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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29997411">chasing the sapphire dragon</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/galaxygalaxygalaxy/pseuds/galaxygalaxygalaxy'>galaxygalaxygalaxy</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Jiu's Bizarre Adventure [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>ATEEZ (Band), BLACKPINK (Band), Dreamcatcher (Korea Band), ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 | JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action/Adventure, F/F, Friends to Lovers, I don't know how to tag this, I promise, Like, Massive multifandom project here, Organized Crime, Rivals to Lovers, Separate From Canon, Slow Burn, Stand Arrows (JoJo), Stands (JoJo), all the weird stuff is explained, and they were roommates! oh my god they were roommates, tags to be added as we go, you dont need to have watched jojos to read this</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 19:21:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>37,905</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29997411</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/galaxygalaxygalaxy/pseuds/galaxygalaxygalaxy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>An act of desperation drives Siyeon to the headquarters of Happy Face Private Investigators and under the employment of the sweet yet strange Jiu. It's a bad idea that drops her in the parking lot of a jewelry store headed by one of the more dangerous gangs of Seoul, but just when she thinks it can't get any worse, she watches her new boss disappear into thin air, a hole open cleanly into a wall, and a windshield spontaneously shatter. Jiu promises an explanation, but what could possibly explain that? </p><p>Meanwhile, Sua has a plan - rob SM Jewelry and use the funds to never have to steal again. She's sick of the life of crime she and her closest friends, Dami and Gahyeon, have had to deal with since the fire ten years ago, and is determined to find a way out, no matter what the cost is. What she doesn't count on is them being watched, but who? And why?</p><p>Then, Jiu's roommate, Yoohyeon, uncovers hidden among her paperwork the location of the fabled Sapphire Dragon, and everything changes. The dragon is the stuff of legend, and more than just them have their eyes on it. They'll have to face off against rival gangs, robots, and each other in order to survive. </p><p>Who will find the dragon? And who will die horribly?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Han Dong | Handong/Lee Gahyeon, Kim Bora | SuA/Lee Siyeon, Kim Minji | JiU/Kim Yoohyeon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Jiu's Bizarre Adventure [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2206614</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>42</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. polaris</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>shoutout to my girlfriend. this entire fic is her fault. :D</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The mailbox reads </span>
  <em>
    <span>Happy Face Private Investigators</span>
  </em>
  <span>. The address number matches the one on her phone. And Siyeon is facing a small house. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looks down at her screen again, then up at the mailbox, then back down. This isn’t what she </span>
  <em>
    <span>expects</span>
  </em>
  <span> a detective agency to look like. In fact, it reminds her of the house she walked here from, where her sister is working away at her schoolwork, and her mother is taking a nap, and her dog is chasing butterflies in the garden. And yet Waze is telling her that this tiny house is the Happy Face Private Investigation Company, Trademarked. Or, at least, it’s one of them, but the only other thing that comes up when she looks up the name of the company is somewhere in Japan. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <em>T</em>
  </span>
  <em>
    <span>his better not be a scam</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she thinks, slipping her phone in the pocket of her black cargo pants. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Mom’s counting on this</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She walks up the rocky steps towards the house and rings the doorbell, taking a deep breath to settle the worry in her stomach. At least, if this is an adventure in futility, it’s a nice day for it. The sun shines brilliantly over the city, there’s a gentle breeze, the air isn’t too humid or too dry. She got a nice walk out of this. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yoohyeon! Get the door!” someone calls from within the house, snapping Siyeon out of her reverie. She looks down at her turtleneck shirt and smooths it, just in case it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> a scam. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Coming, coming!” says a different voice - Yoohyeon, probably. The presumable owner of it tumbles towards the door. Siyeon half expects a toddler, or maybe a sentient dog or something, when the door opens and a young woman peeks her head from around it. “Hi,” she says. “Can I help you?” She’s wearing a pair of white sweatpants and a frog hoodie. She doesn’t look like a detective, either.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Siyeon blinks. “Hi,” she says, stuffing her hands in her pockets. “Lee Siyeon. Is this… Happy Face Private Investigators?” She pops up on her tiptoes to look over the taller woman’s shoulder and only sees an entry hallway and what might be a couch in the ugliest shade of lime green she’s ever seen. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman nods excitedly. “Oh, you’re the new employee! Jiu told me about you,” she chirps. She steps aside and beckons Siyeon in the house. “Here, come on in. You can keep your shoes on. Hungry? Thirsty? Vaguely uncomfortable?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Siyeon shakes her head. “Not- Not really, no,” she says, slipping past the door. “Sorry, who are you? Isn’t there an interview?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman doesn’t appear to have heard her. “Oh, this is so exciting! Last time the guy didn’t even show up.” She grins and hurries back towards the hall. “Jojo! It’s the new girl!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait!” Siyeon says, scrambling to catch up. She hurries into the sitting area, where the woman’s set herself down on the floor in front of a low coffee table scattered with papers and soda cans. In front of her is a huge entertainment console, with books and DVD cases and a blank TV. “Wait, who-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I told you not to call me that!” says the very first person who spoke. She steps around a corner, wiping her hands on a plush green hand towel. “Not when we have guests, anyway.” She clears her throat. Despite the embarrassed tinge to her cheeks, Siyeon recognizes her right away as the woman on the Happy Face website. She </span>
  <em>
    <span>also</span>
  </em>
  <span> doesn’t look like a detective, with her black bomber jacket and skinny jeans and vibrant purple hair. “You’re Siyeon, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Siyeon bows slightly. “Yes. You’re Minji?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minji cringes and tosses the hand towel back into the bathroom behind her. “Please just call me Jiu. Everyone does.” She walks around towards the back of the hideous green couch, leans over, smacks the other woman’s head gently. “Except for </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> one.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That one has a name,” the victim whines. “Kim Yoohyeon.” She grins and picks up a crinkly snack bag. “Want some?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Siyeon holds her hand up in declination. “Yoohyeonie’s my roommate,” Minji - Jiu - says. “She’s not important.” She pushes off the couch. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey!” Yoohyeon says. “Who cooks for you?” She tilts her head back and tracks Jiu’s movement with her eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roommates. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>J</span>
  <span>iu waves her hand and laughs out loud. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh God, they’re roommates. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come here, so we can talk,” she says, motioning Siyeon towards her. She steps up into the dining room - though it’s barely even a room, it’s just a raised platform with a hightop table and some barstools. There’s a thin laptop on the table. She hops onto one of the stools and taps the seat across from her. “I’ll try not to be boring.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Siyeon eases her way around the couch - she doubts she’ll ever get used to the color - and steps into the dining quadrant. Behind the seat she slips into is a  countertop covered in small succulents and weird glass art pieces. Immediately to her left is a tiny kitchenette. “So this is a… detective agency?” she asks, folding her hands professionally in front of her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu opens her laptop and shrugs. “Yeah. It’s also </span>
  <em>
    <span>technically</span>
  </em>
  <span> illegal.” She taps a few buttons on her keyboard. “What? Don’t worry. As long as we don’t, like, step on anyone’s toes, we’re fine.” She pauses, leaning back. “Quick question before we go any further. Why were you looking for a job on </span>
  <em>
    <span>CraigsList</span>
  </em>
  <span>, of all places?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Siyeon winces, dropping her gaze to her hands. “Desperation,” she says. “None of the other places were gonna hire a college dropout, after all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She holds her breath, waiting to see if Jiu prods any further. Thankfully, she doesn’t, and she just nods sympathetically. “Me too, dude,” she says with a smile. “That’s why I’m here. Gotta get that coin.” She clicks something. “As long as you’re not like, a sex offender or something. Because that would be weird.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, god, no!” Siyeon covers her mouth with her hand and laughs reflexively. “Why would a sex offender join a private investigator?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Man, I dunno.” Jiu shrugs. “My dad’s got a couple of stories.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Has he ever dealt with a weirdo like </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Yoohyeon chimes in. She’s half dangling off the top of the couch. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you have work to be doing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s just sorting paperwork. I can do that in my </span>
  <em>
    <span>sleep</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu rolls her eyes to Siyeon. “Can you get me a soda, Yoohyeonie?” she asks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Fine</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Yoohyeon sticks her tongue out, slips off the couch, and walks around behind Jiu towards the fridge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Does she work here?” Siyeon asks, her voice dropping so Yoohyeon can’t hear her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu shakes her head. “She just lives here.” She reaches around to take the can from her roommate. “Thank you.” She pops the tab and takes a sip. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m an assistant at the museum.” Yoohyeon loops her arm around Jiu’s shoulder. “And also her live-in maid, apparently.” She pokes her arm. “Pay me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get </span>
  <em>
    <span>off</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Jiu wiggles until Yoohyeon steps away. Siyeon can’t help but laugh. She can feel herself loosening just a bit. “Sorry- Sorry about that,” Jiu says when Yoohyeon’s slunk back to the hideous couch. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Siyeon shakes her head. “It’s okay,” she says. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.” Jiu returns her attention to her laptop. “Okay, so working for HFPI isn’t like, super hard, but you gotta be prepared for some weird hours.” She spins the laptop around so that Siyeon can see the screen. “Some cases take more time than others, some cases require like, staying up at night, sometimes there’s a week without anything.” There’s a Slides presentation, bright yellow background with black text. </span>
  <b>Happy Face Private Investigators!</b>
  <span> On the bottom of the slide is a picture collage - there’s Jiu with a man with a strange haircut, Jiu holding a black and white cat, Jiu shaking hands with a girl with blonde and blue hair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How are we getting paid?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll get to that.” Jiu taps the spacebar and the next slide pops up. </span>
  <b>Hours: ???</b>
  <span> “It’s gonna depend on the case. The last one we did, we were trying to find this lost cat- that’s a really common type of case, by the way - anyway, it took three days of running up and down Seoul and checking every single animal shelter and alleyway and then finally finding the thing, but I got paid three hundred thousand won, so that was a nice bonus.” She smiles tiredly. “Oh, yeah, fun fact, it’s just the two of us. Which is why I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>so glad that you wanna join me</span>
  </em>
  <span>, oh my god.” She stretches out on the table - it’s the least professional thing she’s done so far - and reaches for one of Siyeon's hands. “Seriously, it’ll be so much easier as the two of us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Si</span>
  <span>yeon pulls away. “Is it really that busy?” she asks, curling her fingers into her palm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu sinks a little, and Siyeon wonders if she hurt her. “Only sometimes. It depends on the case. There was another one, which I think is next-” she taps the spacebar and the little blonde girl comes up again- “yeah, this one, where I got hired by this guy to figure out if his girlfriend was cheating on him. And she was, but she was also confused and gay and didn’t know how to tell him. And that time we got paid like, a </span>
  <em>
    <span>ton</span>
  </em>
  <span> of money by both parties.” She jerks her thumb towards the couch, where Yoohyeon’s popped her head up. “She helped with that one.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is this about the gay bar?” Yoohyeon calls. Jiu flashes her a thumbs up. “That one was fun. I got a cool pin!” She crawls up onto the couch. “Wait, if you’re gonna stay, does this mean I can show you the pins?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t scare her off!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Siyeon rolls her eyes playfully. There’s a part of her that feels like she should find another job elsewhere, but there’s an even louder part that wants to stay and befriend these people. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Perhaps she can do both. She leans on her hand and listens as Jiu starts talking again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We tend to do some pretty petty - like, the legal term - stuff. Y’know, rescuing lost pets, tracking down boyfriends, that sort of thing. Nothing that gets the police on your toes. But!” She claps her hands and hits the button. “Because this is a limited, exclusive service, prices run kinda expensive, y’know?” She grins. “It’s per day of labor with some extra fees if I gotta do something like, sneak into someplace, or I have to pay for legal documents-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Or dress in drag-” Yoohyeon chirps.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu’s smile shrinks and she once again turns pink. “Yoohyeonie, </span>
  <em>
    <span>please</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” she stammers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Siyeon cocks an eyebrow. “Drag?” she echoes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s a really long story and I’ll explain it later!” Jiu waves one of her hands as if swatting the subject away. “I’ve done some weird stuff, but it’s all okay, because look at that.” She taps the button and a whole lot of zeroes pop up on the screen. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Siyeon’s eyes widen. “Damn,” she says. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s the </span>
  <em>
    <span>average</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Jiu says. “It’s already not cheap to hire me, but people like giving tips when you find their cats. Or their soulmates.” She grins again. “Course, you’ll be getting like, half that, but it’ll be even. We’re partners, not like, I’m your manager. Or, we would be partners.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Siyeon barely understands the last thing Jiu says. She reads the number over and over and over again. The </span>
  <em>
    <span>average payout</span>
  </em>
  <span> is three hundred thousand won. Between this and her father’s job, they’ll be able to afford the treatment in no time. Just as long as no weird expenses occur. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But she brushes the last thought aside. The funds from this job are going directly into her mother’s account. There’s no room for weird expenses. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu hits the spacebar again and more pictures pop on the screen, but Siyeon pays them no mind. She leans forward on the table, fixes her face into a professionally enthusiastic expression, and asks, “Where do I need to sign to get this job?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu leans back, a little startled but the sudden intensity. “Um, I haven’t even told you the benefits yet,” she says. She smiles, but she looks a little concerned. “You sure?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Absolutely,” Siyeon says. “That much money could </span>
  <em>
    <span>literally</span>
  </em>
  <span> save someone’s life.” She straightens up and looks around. There are no papers in sight. “So where do I sign?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu mouths, “Oh,” and then spins her laptop back to face her. “Okay. Gimme just a moment to print something out.” She giggles. “To be honest, I didn’t expect to get this far. The last guy didn’t even bother to show up, so.” She pushes her barstool away from her seat and slips off. There’s an attempt being made at professionalism. “One moment.” It doesn’t last long. She skips on her way out the other door to fetch the papers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oo, you’re making a mistake,” Yoohyeon sings from the couch. She’s dangling off the back, with her frog hood flopping over her eyes and her chip bag barely held in her hands. “Jojo’s never gonna let you go now. State mandated friendship.” She grins. “It’s how she got me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Stop calling me that</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” Jiu shouts. Yoohyeon rolls back onto the couch proper. The last thing Siyeon sees is a single chip flying in the air and then a muffled swear word. She rolls her eyes and turns back around to see Jiu walking back into the kitchen with two sheets of paper and a ballpoint pen with a bank logo on it. “Okay. This is the contract, you can just sign here and here. Everything I just said is just here, and also there’s a couple more details.” She slides the papers across the table. “Any questions?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Siyeon picks up the paper and scans the text. There doesn’t appear to be a catch. It’s just a weird, slightly illegal job that pays a decent amount of money. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She clicks the pen and signs her name. “Done,” she says, pushing the page back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu finishes her soda and wipes her mouth. “Wow! That’s great!” she says. “Welcome to Happy Face Private Investigators, Siyeon!” She gathers the pages up, taps them on the desk to straighten them, then puts her hand out to shake. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,” Siyeon says. Jiu’s hand is rough and </span>
  <em>
    <span>freezing</span>
  </em>
  <span> cold to the touch. “When do I start?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The other woman laughs awkwardly. “Well. About that. Can you meet back here at like, nine PM?” She starts to collect her things, stacking the papers on top of the laptop. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Siyeon slips off her barstool. “Probably?” she says, raising an eyebrow. “Why?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Excellent. Bring your energy drink of choice and some warm clothing.” There’s a mischievous twinkle in Jiu’s eyes. “We have a stakeout to do.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"She seems nice," Yoohyeon says, after Siyeon's left. She balls her chip bag up and throws it at the trash can that's by the door. It misses and sails lazily to the floor in the middle of the walkway. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu rolls her eyes and hops off the platform, just as her roommate rolls back onto the couch. She crosses over and picks the bag up. "Yeah, she does," she says, tossing the trash, successfully this time, into the receptacle. "I'm amazed she signed on that fast. I wonder what's up with her." Chase Me runs around her feet, a fluffy white blur against the floorboards.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yoohyeon makes an I-don't-know noise. "You'll find out eventually. Want some theories?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I guess," Jiu says, turning around and heading back to the couch. "What do you think?" She drops on the cushion and grins. "Mafia boss?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oo, that's a good one." Her roommate picks up a sheet of paper and scans it flippantly. "But she's too quiet. I'm thinking contract killer." She drops the paper on one of the many stacks on the table. "She's got too many pockets. Her cargo pants are full of secrets."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu giggles. "Secrets? Like butterfly knives and shit?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"That would be kinda cool," Yoohyeon says. She picks up another page. "Maybe she's a vampire."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Vampires don't exist, dude," Jiu says, gently swatting her on the head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yoohyeon grins. "Who else wears a turtleneck in the middle of summer?" she chirps. "Maybe she's luring you in to bite you later. And you're gonna fucking die. Oh, god." She presses the page to her chest, leans back, and stares with mock sincerity in Jiu's eyes. "If you get turned into a vampire tonight, can you promise to come back and turn me too, so we can be vampire buddies?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She lifts her hand in a pinky swear. Jiu laughs. "You- I mean, sure," she says, accepting the pinky swear. "This is gonna be an easy promise to keep. Because </span>
  <em>
    <span>vampires don't exist</span>
  </em>
  <span>."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh, I'm </span>
  <em>
    <span>holding you to your word</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Jojo," Yoohyeon says. She slips back off the couch to sit at eye level with her paperwork. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu lifts the collar of her jacket to hide her face. "</span>
  <em>
    <span>Stop</span>
  </em>
  <span>," she whines, sinking into the couch. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yoohyeon appears to ignore her. "Speaking of tonight, what do you think's gonna happen?" she asks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"To be honest, I don't really know." Jiu sighs and leans on her hand. "Everything the guy's told me, about like, the other incidents and what he's worried about suggests stand fuckery. And, I'm pretty sure Siyeon's not a stand user-" Chase Me runs around the couch and jumps onto her lap, pressing its little white head into her hand- "since she didn't comment </span>
  <em>
    <span>once</span>
  </em>
  <span> about Chase Me. No </span>
  <em>
    <span>what a cute little dog</span>
  </em>
  <span> or nothing." She sighs. "I dunno if that's gonna help or hurt, but if it </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> stand fuckery, then we might have a problem."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I wish I had a stand," Yoohyeon mumbles. "I wanna see your cute little dog." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu smiles. "You have your own cute little dog."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah, and the last time Dad texted me, said cute little dog was tearing the house up." Deep sigh. "At least I can bring her home today. Hopefully for good, unless you're gonna hire someone else anytime soon, right?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I think we'll be fine for now. Any bigger and we might start stepping on people's toes, and I really don't want to get arrested before existing for a year." Jiu scratches her stand behind the ears lazily. "Or, at all, actually." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yoohyeon doesn't respond to that, no comment or nothing. She's staring at the paper in her hand with a strange intensity. "Oh, shit," she breathes, and Jiu's not sure what she's talking about. "Oh, </span>
  <em>
    <span>shit</span>
  </em>
  <span>!" She pushes herself to her feet, clutching the paper tight enough that it looks like it's gonna rip, and grins fanatically. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What?" Jiu asks, blinking at her roommate. "What is it?" She leans around to try and read the page and only manages to make out the word </span>
  <em>
    <span>dragon</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yoohyeon shakes her head, holds one of her hands out to silence Jiu, and squeaks. "Shh!" she says. "I- I have to make a phone call. Now." She fishes her phone out of the pocket of her hoodie. "Oh, my God, oh my God, oh my God…" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She hurries back towards the staircase and practically sprints up the steps, leaving Jiu to sit and stare in her wake. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"...Okay, then?" she says. She looks down at her stand, as if seeking answers, but Chase Me's only staring at her with beady black eyes. "Yeah. Me too." She pets its head. "She'll tell me later. She always does. Let's go get some energy drinks, hm?" She nudges it off of her lap and stands up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The sun is setting, sending broad orange beams across the cityscape, when Gahyeon leaves the restaurant. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Shit," she says, clutching a greasy paper bag to her chest. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That took longer than expected. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Granted, most things today have been running late; she only woke up a few hours ago, and then Dami had left to go fetch something of importance for tonight's plans, and Sua had sent Gahyeon off to get dinner, now, at seven PM, solely because they have to </span>
  <em>
    <span>look normal</span>
  </em>
  <span>, whatever the fuck that means. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She takes a hurried step onto the sidewalk, which is thankfully not very crowded. She'll be able to get the food home, they'll be able to eat, and everything will go according to plan, despite Sua's constant worrying that's starting to wear her down. There's a lot weighing on tonight. Their rent, their futures, hell, their entire lives are being kept in the safe of the SM Jewelry Shop. If they fuck up </span>
  <em>
    <span>at any point</span>
  </em>
  <span>, they're screwed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gahyeon can almost hear the clatter of a jail cell door swinging shut now. She forces herself to think of something else. The food in the bag is hot, and it burns against her skin. There. That's something to focus on. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Until it hurts, and then she squeaks and pulls the bag away from her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Christ," she mutters, shaking her head. She can't wait to eat this. Maybe that's gonna ground her. She sighs to herself and pauses at the crosswalk, waiting for the light to turn green.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It's almost funny that Sua was telling </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span> earlier to stay calm and quiet, when it's </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sua's</span>
  </em>
  <span> nervous energy that's been getting to her. It's even started to infect Dami; before she left earlier, Gahyeon had caught a glimpse of the typically relaxed girl losing her cool in the bathroom. It's not clear how much sleep the eldest managed to get last night, but it was clearly not enough. Gahyeon's grateful that she was let out of the house, just to get away from her. She hopes that Sua'll calm down some after dinner. She can't be too sure. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The light turns green, and Gahyeon finds herself crossing the street in a mini crowd. Their apartment is only another five minutes away. The point of no return is five minutes away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It feels like someone is staring at her. She turns around to try and catch them, but finds nothing but what </span>
  <em>
    <span>might</span>
  </em>
  <span> have been a flicker of white fabric, or just a figment of her imagination. She needs to get home before paranoia sets in or else she'll never make it. She takes a deep breath and continues forward, only to smack into someone coming the other direction. Her food drops from her hand. So does whatever the other person's holding. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Hey!" Gahyeon says, as she stoops to pick up her dinner. She's beaten to it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh, no," the other person says. "I'm so sorry, here." They straighten up and hand the greasy brown paper bag to Gahyeon. "I must've just zoned out completely. Is everything alright?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gahyeon blinks at them, slowly taking the bag back. "Yeah, everything's fine." The most noticeable thing about them is that they're wearing a black turtleneck in the middle of summer. "Thanks. You're good, too, right?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They nod. "Sorry about that. Um, have a nice day." They smile, awkwardly wave, and dip off back down the road, leaving Gahyeon clutching her food once again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You too?" she tries to say, but the other person makes no recognition of having heard her. No matter. She's got food to deliver and a heist to pull off. She picks up the pace as she continues towards the apartment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sun is starting to dip below the horizon when she hits the steps. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Two hours to go.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. red sun</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Siyeon is a little impressed by the variety of salty snacks and sugary drinks Jiu can fit in her backpack. There are brands that she's never seen before. Not all of the text is Korean. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Are you really gonna need </span>
  <em>
    <span>all</span>
  </em>
  <span> that?" Siyeon asks, staring at the zipper, which seems about to pop. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu shrugs and taps the bag with a delicate hand. "I dunno," she says. "No telling how late we'll be out. Could be a couple of hours, could be all night." She points at the plastic bag that Siyeon is holding. "What did you get?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>S</span>
  <span>iyeon suddenly feels a little embarrassed. "A Red Bull," she says, looking down at the contents of the bag. "And a bag of chips."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'll share, don't worry." Jiu heaves her backpack over her shoulder and grins. "Alright, are we ready to go?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Siyeon nods. "Ready as I'll ever be. I'm expecting like, a briefing on the way."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her now-partner laughs and flips her purple hair over her shoulder. "I'll do my best, but…" She pauses, looks at the ground as if watching something, and shrugs. "I'm gonna be honest, all I know is that SM Jewelry contracted us to watch over their shop and see if anyone tries - or, like, succeeds -  in breaking in. I don't know who I'm expecting, or why this specific shop, or anything."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"SM Jewelry?" Siyeon repeats. Her jaw drops. "You mean, the shop that everyone thinks is run by the fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>mob</span>
  </em>
  <span>? That SM Jewelry?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu's eyes go wide, and she chuckles, like Siyeon just made a really uncomfortable joke. "Ah, I didn't know </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> part," she says, more to herself than anyone else. "I guess so! Well-" she claps her hands together and laughs again- "the first rule of HFPI is, of course, don't ask questions, because most of the time, you won't like the answer!" Her face falls. "I wonder if Dad's ever worked with the mob. I'll ask him later." She shrugs it off. "Any other questions?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Siyeon presses her hands to her face. "Jiu, are you like, trying to die?" she says. "Because if we get ourselves messed up with the </span>
  <em>
    <span>mob</span>
  </em>
  <span>-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"All the more reason to not mess up!" Jiu walks right past Siyeon and out the door. She seems jittery.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Siyeon is starting to get second thoughts. She takes a deep breath, presses her fingers to her temples, and tells herself that if something goes extremely wrong, she can just quit. Nevermind that there were no other places hiring. Nevermind that her mother needs this more than her. She winces internally.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You coming?" Jiu calls from the doorway. She's halfway outside. She drops her gaze to the ground again, then back at Siyeon. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Siyeon can't shake the feeling that the older girl is expecting something of her. "Yeah!" she says, and she hurries down after her. "Sorry, just lost in thought."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu laughs. "Relax. It'll be fine. Even if it is the </span>
  <em>
    <span>mob</span>
  </em>
  <span>, they won't know about you unless I tell them." She holds the door until Siyeon jogs out of it, then lets it fall shut. “Hopefully. I don’t actually know how the mob works.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That makes two of us,” Siyeon says. It’s cooler tonight, for the middle of summer, and she’s thankful for her turtleneck. “Well, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe it’s just a fun little rumor.” They walk down the steps, and Siyeon looks back at the house. There’s a single light on in one of the upper windows. “Where’s Yoohyeon, by the way?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu waves her hand almost dismissively and pushes a button on the key fob in her hands. “She found something earlier in her paperwork and then just vanished upstairs before I could ask what.” She hops down onto the curb and pauses by a beat-up looking black car. “She’s in the anthropology department, so she does like… cultural development, I think? I honestly don’t quite know, she tells me all kinds of things all the time, and…” She shrugs and pulls her door open. “Her specialty is myths and legends and heroes and art and all that. If you want to hear her talk for </span>
  <em>
    <span>hours</span>
  </em>
  <span>, ask what her favorite story is.” She grins. “It changes like, every other week.” And then she vanishes into the car. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Siyeon drops into her seat and sets her snack bag at her feet. “You and Yoohyeon seem like good friends,” she says as she buckles her seatbelt. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu, who’s twisted nearly all the way around to place her bag in the backseat, squeaks. “Shoot!” She sighs and turns back. “Yeah, we’ve been best friends since middle school. When she moved back here, I came with her.” She twists the key in the ignition. “Which is kinda how I ended up in this weird legality bubble, but, eh, it’s too late now. I’m smart enough to keep out of trouble… I think, at least.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hope so,” Siyeon mutters. “I don’t wanna be arrested.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu hums, switches the car’s gears, and starts to pull onto the road. “Look, you can back out at any time,” she says. “I’m not gonna make you do anything that you don’t want to.” She smiles softly at her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>To be honest, Siyeon already doesn’t want to be here, but she also doesn’t have a choice in the matter. Damn her lack of luck. At least her conspirator’s friendly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you wanna put on music, the car’s got Bluetooth,” Jiu continues, changing the subject. “Sometimes it’s a bit spotty, but it worked last time I used it.” She pats the car’s center console. “You can put on whatever you want, I don’t care.” Then, she shoots a faux-glare at Siyeon. “If you don’t, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>will</span>
  </em>
  <span> make you listen to my playlist, and this is a threat.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Siyeon raises an eyebrow and fishes her phone out of her pocket. “What do you listen to?” she asks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu laughs, scratching the back of her neck. “Oh, y’know. Things.” She hits the turn signal. “I like, like, Babymetal-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, really?” Siyeon perks up. “So do I!” She unlocks her phone and grins. “That helps a bit.” She clicks onto Genie. “What’s the car called?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu tells her, and the rest of the car ride passes in excitement. Every minute that the two spend chatting is another minute of Siyeon’s guard dropping, until she’s nearly completely at ease sitting next to the woman. Jiu’s singing, telling stories, laughing. It eases Siyeon’s anxieties about the mob almost completely. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then they pull in front of SM Jewelry, and everything flares back up again. No amount of laughter will dissuade the mob, if something goes wrong tonight. Siyeon’s watched enough movies to know that much. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright,” Jiu says, and she turns the music down so quietly to the point that it’s only barely audible. “Target acquired.” She throws the car into park. “I dunno how long we’ll be stuck here, but we should be set for at least a couple of hours.” She taps the time on the display. “Nine thirty-five. We are ahead of schedule.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Siyeon squints at the building. The car is seated just beyond the range of the closest streetlight, and she has to squint to read the sign. There are no lights in the parking lot, which even from here looks spotty and full of holes. It’s not necessarily the best location for a </span>
  <em>
    <span>jewelry store. </span>
  </em>
  <span>A cold feeling creeps up her spine. She twitches.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu pops the center console and pulls out a pair of green binoculars. She hands them to Siyeon. “Just in case things do get interesting, y’know?” she says, pulling out her own pair, although hers are blue. “You look sick.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A little,” Siyeon mumbles. She picks up the binoculars and looks through them. There’s nothing so far. “This just feels like a bad idea.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu sighs. “Yeah. I didn’t realize that </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> was the place. I mean, I’ve seen it a couple times during the day, but I always thought it was shut down.” She twists around and unzips her backpack. “Look, if all goes well, we’ll be completely fine. Promise.” When she faces front again, she’s holding a brilliant green can with blue </span>
  <em>
    <span>kanji</span>
  </em>
  <span> on it and a bag of chips. “And if that doesn’t work, well, I’ll just… Call my dad, I guess.” She pops the bag of chips and offers it Siyeon. “He’ll know what to do.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Siyeon pushes the chips away. “I can’t really eat when I get anxious,” she says. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No worries!” the other woman chirps. “Take your time. Don’t need you ruining the car </span>
  <em>
    <span>already</span>
  </em>
  <span>, especially when I just got it clean from </span>
  <em>
    <span>last</span>
  </em>
  <span> time- that’s a joke, by the way. You can laugh.” She nudges Siyeon’s side. “Want me to turn the music back up? We don’t really need to be able to hear.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Siyeon shrugs. “Whichever, whatever,” she says. Her eyes are fixed on the building. It looks like a giant concrete box, with an LED sign that reads </span>
  <em>
    <span>SM Jewelry: Elegant and Inexpensive</span>
  </em>
  <span> hung overtop of what look like huge Plexiglass windows on the front. From where the car is parked, she can see two sides of it, tilted at an angle. The other side contains windows that stretch about halfway down the wall, before just disappearing. She lifts the binoculars to her eyes. In the dark, she can’t quite tell, but it looks to be solid. The only way in is through the front. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu is humming along to the song being played. “There are a couple other spots that were hit,” she says. “The evidence there suggests a small group of people. They were able to get into the building and out like </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>-” she snaps her fingers- “but only seemed interested in some specific items, which is why SM hired us for here.” She opens the can of drink and takes a sip. “We’re just watching out for the people. We aren’t supposed to try and stop them. At least, I really hope not…” She looks at Siyeon, then at Siyeon’s lap. She looks like she’s searching for something again. Siyeon folds her hands gently. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What if we have to fight them off?” she asks quietly. “And we don’t?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu makes a face. “I don’t know,” she says, tapping the steering wheel. “Change our names and flee the country?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Siyeon’s mouth twists into a small smile. “Lemme guess, we move in with your parents?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Dad, I found a stray, and she followed me home! Can we keep her?” Jiu giggles. “Let’s just, uh, hope it doesn’t come to that- What was that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The grin drops from her face in an instant, and Siyeon jerks her head back out the windshield. The parking lot remains a void. There seems to be nothing there. “What was what?” she asks, lifting her binoculars to her eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, fuck,” Jiu breathes, so quietly that it probably wasn’t meant to be heard. “Um, nothing. Carry on.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you trying to mess with me right now?” Siyeon shoots Jiu a glare, but the look on the other woman’s face is dead serious. “Did you see a ghost?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu shakes her head. “It’ll be fine,” she says, though she doesn’t entirely sound convinced. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Siyeon narrows her eyes, then turns back around to look out the window. This time, when she lifts the binocular to her eyes, she can see two person-shaped blobs; one of them steps into the light, points, and disappears back into the darkness. They have pinkish blonde-ish hair, maybe, and it’s twisted into two small buns, and their hands are covered in red vinyl fingerless gloves. “They’re early,” Siyeon says. She scrambles to pull her phone out. The time reads 10:15.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They saw us,” Jiu says. She swallows. “That’s either a really good thing or a really bad thing.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you think they’ll walk away?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu sighs. “Probably not. They’ll just try to find- Holy </span>
  <em>
    <span>shit!” </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She’s interrupted by a tapping on the glass. Siyeon jumps; her binoculars drop from her hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Standing outside of Jiu’s door is a short, frightened looking girl, with windswept brown hair and a button down vest. “Help,” she mouths, and she taps the glass again. Jiu looks at Siyeon, who shrugs helplessly, and pushes the button to roll the window down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, God, I’m so sorry,” the girl says, her voice high pitched and hysterical. “I didn’t mean-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay!” Jiu replies, and she waves her hands. “Hey, calm down. What’s the matter?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Siyeon leans forward to get a better look at her. She certainly seems upset by something. Her hair is falling in her face. “Sorry,” she says, then takes a deep breath. “I was just… Walking around with my sisters, and then I went a little bit ahead and, they’re just gone…” She sniffs. “I know this isn’t the best part of town, but we didn’t have a choice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu looks at Siyeon and mouths, “Oh, no…” She then turns back to the girl. “What’s your name? What can we do for you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My name is- Bora,” she says, then she sniffs again. “Could you just maybe walk with me while I go back to where they were? You seem… Well, strong.” She swallows. “My phone’s dead, maybe you could…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Movement flickers out of the corner of Siyeon’s eye, and she turns around just in time to see the red vinyl glove disappear into the shadows again. “Shit,” she breathes, but Jiu doesn’t appear to notice. “Wait, maybe we should just call the police-” She reaches over to grab Jiu’s wrist. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu wriggles free and laughs. “And try to explain why we’re here? This’ll be </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” She leans over and tilts her head at Bora. “She’s tiny. She’s got a little stuffed toy with her. She’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>harmless</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” She pushes her door open and slides out before Siyeon can stop her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait-” Siyeon tries again, but she’s stopped, by Bora already grabbing her wrist. There is nothing in her hands. “Jiu-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bora tugs Jiu away down the gravel-like sidewalk. “Here, we were just this way,” she says. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jeez, it’s dark out,” Jiu says. “Don’t you have a flashlight?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jiu!” Siyeon yells, lunging over the center console. “This-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The taller woman turns around, and then Bora pulls her to her level, lifts her hand to her face, and whispers something in her ear. And then, to Siyeon’s horror and disbelief, they both vanish into thin air. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jiu?” Siyeon yells, and she practically throws herself over center console and out of the car. “Jiu! Bora! What the hell was that?” She runs towards where the two of them were, just thirty seconds ago, and then beyond some. “Where’d you go?” She waves her hands in the now empty space and feels nothing, not even a temperature difference. “Is this some kind of joke? Were you guys friends? Jiu-” Her foot catches on a crack in the sidewalk and she falls to the ground. Thankfully, her sleeves protect her. “Jiu, this isn’t fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>funny</span>
  </em>
  <span>…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pushes herself upright and turns around, but there’s still nothing there. Panic bubbles and boils in her stomach. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How did that </span>
  <em>
    <span>happen</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” she mutters, pushing herself to her feet. She runs over the thoughts in her mind. Either magic’s real, or this </span>
  <em>
    <span>isn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> happening - this is a dream. This must be a dream. Her chest heaves with her breaths. She smacks herself in the head, in an attempt to wake herself up. Nothing changes. She is still standing there, on this sidewalk, pebbles falling from her sleeves, completely and utterly alone. The car is only a couple of feet away, with the light still on and the drive side door still open. She pinches her cheek hard enough to burn. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the hell is going on?” she breathes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She hurries the rest of the steps towards the car, hesitating for a moment about what to do next. She could call the police, but Jiu’d been right - they look extremely suspicious. She could drive away, and then call the police, but then if Jiu comes back while she’s gone, she’d be stranded here. She could drive all the way back to “headquarters”, but she has no idea how she’ll explain what she just saw to Yoohyeon. She could also wait a couple of minutes to see if Jiu and Bora - if that’s even her name, Siyeon has several suspicions - do return, and then they can call the police together - or she’d default to option two. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She starts to walk around the car, at least to sit down again, but movement by the store stops her once again. Standing right by the front windows is the person from before, the one with the vinyl gloves and the space buns, and they have their hand on the glass. Siyeon feels her heart drop. Crap, is this where she steps in?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The person taps the glass a couple of times. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Soundlessly, a perfectly circular hole just big enough for them to wriggle through opens. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>not possible</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Siyeon breathes. “That- That can’t be real.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But the person is already halfway into the building. Siyeon swallows. “Hey!” she shouts, against her better judgement. “What the hell are you doing?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The burglar whips their head around at the sound, but other than that, they don’t react. Then, they drop into the store and disappear from sight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>What the fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Siyeon says. She grabs at her head, pulling hair free from the ponytail it was in, and tries to </span>
  <em>
    <span>understand</span>
  </em>
  <span>. First, Jiu vanishes without a trace; then, this person just opens a hole into a thick pane of glass seemingly without making a sound. There’s no telling what could happen next. She doesn’t wanna know what’s gonna happen next. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She drops into her seat, pulls the door shut with far more force than necessary, and just stares at the store. Something is wedged uncomfortably in her seat - the binoculars. She fishes them out and lifts them to her eyes. Part of her hopes that the hole never actually happened, that it was just a trick of the light. Except it’s still there, as if mocking her. She turns towards the driver side door, and there’s still nothing there. Jiu and Bora have yet to return. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dammit,” Siyeon hisses, dropping the binoculars. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Dammit!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Tears blur her vision, and she furiously wipes them away. “Where’d you </span>
  <em>
    <span>go</span>
  </em>
  <span>? I might not have known you very long but I don’t want you to </span>
  <em>
    <span>die</span>
  </em>
  <span>-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“-fuck!” someone shouts, and then there’s a sound, much like a body slamming into concrete, and Siyeon leans over to see Jiu’s lying flat on her back, not far from where she vanished. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, my God!” Siyeon says. She scrambles madly to get out of the car and run around. Her feet scrabble against the decrepit sidewalk. “Jiu!” She hurries over to her coworker and drops. Jiu’s sitting up slowly, pressing one hand to her forehead, which is scraped up. Blood trickles from her nose and her split lip, and there’s a mark that might be turning into a bruise on her wrist. “What the hell happened?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu shakes her head and grabs Siyeon’s wrist with a sudden </span>
  <em>
    <span>anger</span>
  </em>
  <span> flaring in her brown eyes. “Did you see where that girl went?” she hisses. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wh- No?” Siyeon stammers. “Seriously, where did-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu pushes her off and then staggers to her feet. “Dammit! She must’ve started running and then deactivated her stand.” She pulls her jacket off before wiping her nose with the back of her hand. It doesn’t do anything but smear the blood. “This is bad, </span>
  <em>
    <span>bad</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stand?” Siyeon rises as well. “What are you talking about?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu shakes her head and walks back to the car. “I’ll explain on the ride home- when did that happen?” She starts off waving her hand, and then she points at the jewelry store and the very obvious hole in the window. “How did that happen? Did you see that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Siyeon nods. “I mean, I saw a person, and they put their hand on the glass like this-” she lifts one of her hands, which has begun to shake- “and then there was a hole, just like that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu groans and drops into her seat, dropping her jacket in the seat behind her. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Dammit</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” she curses, for far from the first time. “That means there’s three of them.” She beckons for Siyeon to get in the car. Siyeon hurries to follow her suit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Three of what?” she asks. She practically throws herself into the seat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stand users,” Jiu says dismissively. “Let’s get out of here, then I can-” She cuts herself off with a gasp. “Was that the person, Siyeon?” She points out the windshield. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sure enough, exiting the hole much like they came in is the same burglar, this time holding a bag in one of their hands. They shimmy out, drop to the ground with cat-like grace, and turn around. Their hand touches the glass, and the hole seals itself back up again, as if it weren’t there in the first place. Siyeon swallows. “Yup,” she says. “Uh-huh. That’s them.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The person stands there, for way, way too long. “They noticed us,” Jiu says. “Shit. We gotta </span>
  <em>
    <span>move</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” She reaches for the ignition, but nothing’s in her hand. “Huh? Where did the key go?” She ducks, and picks them up. “How’d they fall out?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“S-Sorry,” Siyeon stammers. “That was definitely me. When- When you vanished, I just panicked and I must have bumped it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu nods, twirling the keys around a finger, and puts them in the ignition. “All good, just- Oh, my god.” The frustration in her voice vanishes and is replaced with abject horror. “What the hell </span>
  <em>
    <span>is that</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Siyeon looks out the windshield, but finds nothing there. “What is what?” she asks. Her anxiety is mixing with a sour note of annoyance. If she hadn’t watched Jiu vanish or a hole be formed and resealed, she’d be convinced her new employer is completely insane. She’s still thinking about it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then a perfect circle of glass disappears from the windshield, just bigger than their heads.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh?” Siyeon sputters. She leans forward, as if to touch the glass, and Jiu swats her hand away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t!” she says. “It could-” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She gets cut off by a delicate tinkling sound, and the two watch as a spiderweb of cracks spreads across the remaining glass. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Duck,” Jiu says hoarsely. Siyeon obeys automatically, just in time for the windshield to shatter </span>
  <em>
    <span>completely</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Glass showers down over her head and arms with enough force to make her hands sting. She takes a deep breath and waits to lift her head. Glass shards have covered the dashboard, peppered her hands and legs and hair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She swallows and looks at her hands, which are dotted with flecks of blood. It hurts to dust her legs off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Jesus fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>Christ</span>
  </em>
  <span>," Jiu says. She has similar injuries on her hands. She sighs. "Are you alright?" She looks at Siyeon with nothing but concern on her face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Siyeon looks down at her hands again, then back at her employer. "What the fuck was </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>?" she says, her chest heaving as the panic resumes again. "You better have a good explanation for it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu nods. She's using her jacket to sweep the glass off the dashboard and out of the car. "Let's get back to my place," she says. "Yoohyeon can clean us up." She sighs, balls the jacket up, and tosses it in the backseat. "I'm really sorry, Siyeon. If I'd known stands were involved I'd never have asked you to come with me." She twists the key in the ignition, and the car rumbles to life. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"First, you're gonna explain what a stand is," Siyeon mutters. She's very happy her pants are black. The blood from her hands won't show up. "Or whatever you called it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jiu nods and doesn't speak for a while. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Things are not going well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gahyeon hadn't quite expected them to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It had begun with the feeling of being watched as they were picking their way downtown towards the SM Jewelry store; Gahyeon can still feel the pricking of eyes on the back of her neck. If it hadn't been for the damn raccoon and the dumpster - the scratches on her wrist still sting - she doubts they would have made it here in the first place. Except they are being watched here, too: two women sitting in a car down in front of the parking lot. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"They're watching us," Dami confirms, melting back out of the shadows to stand next to Gahyeon. "The purple haired one saw us move."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sua puts her thumbnail in her mouth and curses under her breath. "As in, you and Scream, correct?" she asks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dami nods. "She reacted to the shadows. We're gonna have to take her out, but I can't be the one to do it." She leans against the wall. "I can't tell from here, but her ability might have something to do with the dog."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gahyeon winces. "What about the other one?" she asks. "Does she have any powers?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"That's the good part. As far as I can tell, no." Dami smiles. "The dog's wiggled around a lot, and the other girl's paid no attention to it. She also didn't react to Scream. I have my doubts that she has any clue what's going on."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sua wipes her hands on her jeans. "So we just have to take out the one." She glances back at Gahyeon. "Any ideas?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Weighing heavy against the youngest girl's thigh is a loaded gun that she touches now. "I can't," she says, shaking her head. "This is for emergencies, and we're on mob turf. The less damage we have to do, the better it works out for us. It's not like those street kids." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What if you stole her for a bit?" Dami suggests. She lifts her hand - it's wreathed in black from Scream - and points at Sua. "Take Good Night, pull her away from the other girl, maybe rough her up a bit if you gotta. The two of us can get in, get the money, and get out, especially with our powers." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gahyeon nods in agreement. "Five minutes, tops."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sua sighs. "Right. Yeah, that'll work." She combs her fingers through her hair, mussing it up. "Just wish I didn't have to. Are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>sure</span>
  </em>
  <span> you can do it on your own?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The remaining two girls exchange a look. "Absolutely," Dami says. "Hell, one of us could probably do it on our own." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh, you could," Gahyeon says, and she rubs the back of her neck. "I mean. I dunno about me, though." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sua nudges her shoulder. "That's the kind of talk that's gonna fuck this one up," she says. She straightens up and rolls her shoulders. "I'll sneak over there, you get inside. We meet back outside the bank in fifteen minutes, no more. Sounds good to you?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gahyeon nods, balling her hands into fists. Nervous energy thrums across her body. This is it, she tells herself, and she bounces her weight from foot to foot. Tonight's going to be the last night they do this. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"See you later," Dami says. "Scream." She gives Gahyeon a comforting tap on the shoulder. The younger girl turns around in time to watch her melt back into the shadows, as if she were never there in the first place. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sua smiles, one hand wrapped around the beat up old teddy bear that is Good Night, before whispering her own words and vanishing; the world ripples out around her. Gahyeon leans forward just enough to track the elder's reappearance. Her own power flows through her, looms over her. It's oddly comforting. "Okay," she says, both to herself and to </span>
  <em>
    <span>it</span>
  </em>
  <span>, even though she knows it won't respond. "In through the window, out through the window. The cash is in the safe." She flexes her fingers. "Safe's in the back. Fuck, what if I kill Dami?" She tenses, all of a sudden. There's a serious chance she could put a hole through her friend if she's not careful. Damn Dami and her shadows. Damn that it's the middle of the night.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sua's reappeared next to the car, and she's saying something, but Gahyeon's too far away to hear. She seems to be clinging to Good Night like it's some kind of comfort object, and she's pulled her hair in front of her face. Gahyeon swallows. Now to hoping the woman in the car takes the bait. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her power leans forward in anticipation. The car opens, and Sua leads her away, grabs her hand, pulls her down-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Now</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Gahyeon hisses, and she rushes forward and into the flickering streetlight. The other person in the car is shouting what </span>
  <em>
    <span>must</span>
  </em>
  <span> be her name; good, they’ve yet to notice her yet. Doubly good, they really don’t have any powers. Triply good, maybe they won’t see her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She skids around the front of the building, her beat up boots slipping on the gravel. Now or never. Do or die. Holy shit. Her heart is pounding in her throat. She slows down to avoid falling and eases her way about halfway down the window, until she’s at a spot she thinks she can get through without breaking </span>
  <em>
    <span>much</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She hops up on her toes, cracks her neck, then pushes her hand against the glass. “Boca,” she whispers, and she giggles. “Yeah, you know what to do.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her power wraps around her hand, glowing a dull blue, and taps the glass practically of its own accord. On the fourth tap, the glass vanishes, leaving a hole just big enough for her to squeeze through. She grins and rubs her hands together. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey!” the only remaining person shouts. “What the hell are you doing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gahyeon risks a single glance over her shoulder. The woman is standing at the edge of the sidewalk, her arms wrapped around herself like she’s trying to calm herself down. She seems </span>
  <em>
    <span>completely </span>
  </em>
  <span>out of her league. Gahyeon smiles to herself. “Aite, boost me,” she says, grabbing the edge of the glass and pulling herself through. Her power supports her. She slips through the window and rolls onto the floor of SM Jewelry. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She’s in. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She lets herself sit there for a moment, just in case her movement sets off any alarms or anything. When nothing happens, she straightens herself up and dusts her knees off. Her hands are uncut. Thank god for vinyl gloves. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, Gahyeon,” she tells herself, easing her way around a display case of ugly costume jewelry. “Next step, find the safe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s difficult to see in the lack of light, but she thinks she can make out the layout of the room. There’s a low glass case that rings the area on three sides, and here and there are podiums with other items. Framed </span>
  <em>
    <span>somethings</span>
  </em>
  <span> line the walls, but it’s too dark to make out the details. She keeps her power summoned, even if the glow is too low to make much out. There’s something comforting about it being there. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She traces the glass case until she feels it stop and slips behind it there. There’s a shadow behind the case that’s clearly a doorway. The safe must be after it. She hurries into the darkness. Suddenly, she finds herself very aware of the time that’s past. She’s gotta get in and out </span>
  <em>
    <span>fast</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pauses in the doorjamb and squints. The room she’s looking into right now is just an office, judging from the boxy thing that’s probably a desk and the cool metal filing cabinet that’s right next to her. Good. The safe’s probably somewhere in here, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>Dami</span>
  </em>
  <span> is probably not. The storage center must be somewhere else. Gahyeon feels a sense of relief flow through her. She revels it in for a moment before snapping her focus back to the task at hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Safe. She’s gotta find the safe. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She heads over to the desk and quickly skirts it. The first thought for a safe would be here, where it could be watched over. She presses her hand against the wall behind it, but feels nothing but wallpaper. There isn’t even a poster to move. She keeps her fingertips there and walks the perimeter of the office. Nothing catches her attention. She sighs. She’s wasting time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her eyes have adjusted to the lack of light, and she can make out more details. Behind the desk, right next to where she first touched down, is a shelf; two filing cabinets stand on the other wall by the door. On top of one of them is a small rectangular shape. She tilts her head and crosses back over to it. It’s heavy and difficult for her to move, and cool and metallic to the touch. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Could this be the safe? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pushes it, but all that does is make her arms tired. That leaves only one way to find out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>S</span>
  <span>he hops up and slaps the metal with a little more force than necessary, squeaking out, “Boca!” as she does so. Her power floats up around her, its blue head - featureless except for a permanent toothy grin - bobbing in the corner of her vision - and finishes the job. She pops up on her toes to see what is exposed. She makes out the corner of a stack of banknotes. Bingo. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She unhooks an empty bag from the belt around her waist. Now to get the money into the bag. This is the difficult part. She tries to brace herself against the wall and one of the filing cabinets and only manages to fall and wind herself. She kicks the filing cabinet in frustration and one of the drawers pops out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’ll have to do. She uses it as a stepping stool and sweeps as many stacks as she can into the bag. “Shit-!” she curses, feeling the cabinet sway beneath her. “Shit. Boca!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She hits the safe and watches it seal back up again. A self-assured smile creeps onto her face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then, something in the cabinet supporting her snaps, and she plummets to the ground. This time, she’s down for at least thirty seconds. When she can breathe again, she scrambles to her feet and squints at the drawer. One of the supports for the drawer is broken. “Oh,” she mutters, and she tries to push it back in. “Come </span>
  <em>
    <span>on</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At least the drawer was open to begin with. They must not use it that often. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a minute long struggle, she manages to get it close to shut. It just might never be opened again. She sighs and scoops up the money that fell out back into her bag. She’s gotta get out of here. Any longer and she’ll be late to the bank. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She hurries her way back out to the front, hops up over the case, and pauses in front of the window. The hole is still there where she left it. She ties the bag back around her belt and flexes her fingers. “Alright,” she says. “Boost me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She pulls herself through the hole with the aid of Boca and sticks a three point landing. The added weight of the bag threatens to pull her forward, but she manages to use the momentum to push herself back to her feet. She slaps the glass, where the hole was, and watches it seal itself back up again. When she turns around, she </span>
  <em>
    <span>feels</span>
  </em>
  <span> like she’s making direct eye contact with someone in the car. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As if this couldn’t get any worse. She took too long retrieving the cash; Good Night had deactivated in the time she spent fumbling around the office. She swallows a growing lump in her throat. If she stays, she’ll be caught, and sent to jail, and all will be ruined. If she leaves, she could be tailed. She needs to get out of there. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She points at the car, watches her power slip out of her. “Windshield,” she commands. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s almost a little unsettling, watching Boca lope towards the car. None of its joints are connected; it seems to be held together by magnetism or something. Its jaw stretches wide. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gahyeon waits just long enough to know that it’s put the hole in the windshield before turning and running, back around the building, down the alley, onto the back roads. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>S</span>
  <span>he makes it halfway to the bank, when someone in a white shirt with flowing sleeves drops down in front of her and points a hand crossbow at her face. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. silent night</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“So, let me get this straight,” Siyeon says, rubbing her palms against her pants. “Some people have these powers, and those powers are called stands. And only people with stands can see other people’s stands. And they all have hyper specific powers. And </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> was what did all of this.” She waves her hand at the windshield, or what used to be the windshield. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu nods. “Yeah, basically.” She blinks her hair out of her eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“And this is just… </span>
  <em>
    <span>normal</span>
  </em>
  <span> for you?” Siyeon holds her hand over her face, shielding it from the breeze. It feels like a really stupid idea for them to be driving a car with no windshield - even after cleaning the glass as much as they could. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I guess. I grew up with it.” Jiu shrugs. “My stand, Chase Me, developed when I was in middle school, and my family and most of our family friends are stand users, not to mention that sometimes Dad works with the Speedwagon Foundation, which you didn’t hear about from me, and then like, every member of my </span>
  <em>
    <span>extended</span>
  </em>
  <span> family, too…” She grins. “We kinda lucked out, I guess. I dunno. Most people have to have something really shitty happen to develop a stand. We just… Are born with them.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon just shakes her head, twisting around to look out the window. “I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this,” she mutters. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Maybe you have. Miracle workers or weird things tend to come from stand users, according to Dad, at least. He also says that we’re like… Attracted to each other. Like magnets.” Jiu hits the turn signal and turns on the road her house is on. “Which is why I’m kinda amazed these are the first people I’ve seen in Seoul. I mean, I haven’t been here long, but there’s gotta be more than </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Is… Does Yoohyeon… Y’know?” Siyeon isn’t sure of the right phrasing. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu laughs. “Nope. But she knows. She’s spent enough time around my family to hear </span>
  <em>
    <span>all</span>
  </em>
  <span> the stories, and she tends to complain.” They pull next to the house; only one light is on upstairs. “She’s jealous, y’know? But, ah… I don’t want her to get one.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon tilts her head. “Why not?” she asks. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu turns the car off and fidgets with the keys. “Because getting one is… Traumatic. I don’t want her to go through </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” She smiles, but it just looks sad. “I’ve put her through enough shit.” And then her mood changes, and she taps Siyeon’s shoulder. “She’s pretty damn good at patching people up, though. You can go first.” With that, she kicks her door open and slips out. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon sits there for a moment longer, staring at the palms of her hands, which are pockmarked with tiny wounds. They still sting when she bends them. “Shouldn’t we go to a doctor?” she calls, even though Jiu is halfway up the walk. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“And explain the whole mob thing?” The purple-haired girl laughs. “I’m really not trying to get arrested, dude.” She spins around and knocks on the door. “Yoohyeonie! We’re home! And we need help!” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The door doesn’t open. Siyeon opens her car door, wincing, and slides out. The adrenaline’s worn off; she’s not shaking nearly as much. That’s good. She walks up the steps. “Yoohyeon?” Jiu calls again. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The window up top flies open with a clatter. “Jojo!” the roommate calls, dangling out of the window. Her entire face is bright with a smile. “And Siyeon, too! Guess what- Oh, my God!” She winces and waves at them. “What the hell happened?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“You were right,” Jiu says. Her face is still beat up, and it only looks worse after the time that's passed. There’s visible swelling around one of her eyes, her lip is puffy, her nose just looks </span>
  <em>
    <span>crusty</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“About what? Oh, God.” Yoohyeon shakes her head. “Don’t- Don’t tell me now, I’ll just… Get inside.” She disappears from the window. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon stares at Jiu. “You need help more than me, Jiu,” she says, slowly. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her partner shrugs. “Eh. I’ve dealt with worse.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>That does very little to ease any of Siyeon’s worries. She flexes her hands and lifts her eyebrows. “What kind of shit have you </span>
  <em>
    <span>done</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” she blurts. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu waves her hands. “I grew up in stand central,” she says, as if that explains </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She pulls the door open. “How many fights have </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> gotten into?” She vanishes into the hallway, which is dark. “Bathroom’s this way!” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“None-?” Siyeon says, hurrying after her. “Hang on!” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu leads her back through the tiny sitting room, past the ugly couch and the coffee table still scattered with papers, and into a small door in the corner. The light’s already on in there. The bathroom is </span>
  <em>
    <span>tiny</span>
  </em>
  <span>. There’s a small bathtub on the far wall, then a sink perpendicular to that and a toilet with one of those fuzzy lid covers on it. Across from it is a really old fashioned radiator and a small wicker laundry basket. Yoohyeon’s pulling a huge metal box out from under the sink, and Jiu takes a seat on the fuzzy toilet. “You’re gonna have to explain yourselves,” Yoohyeon says. “You look like you got in a fight.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“That’s because I did,” Jiu says. “Take care of Siyeon first, please.” She points Siyeon over to the bathtub. The other girl feels weirdly compelled to obey. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon, who has already pulled out a tube of antibiotics, gets this look on her face, something like exasperation. “Are you serious, Minji?” she says. She’s lost that sense of humor that she had not even five minutes before. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“It’s easier to talk when you’re not stuffing cotton balls in my nose,” Jiu says, a small smile twisting her face. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“She’s got a point,” Siyeon says. “I don’t have any idea what just happened.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon sighs. “Fine,” she mumbles. “Here, hold out your hands…”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon obeys, and Jiu begins to succinctly and surprisingly professionally retell the story, although some of the details don’t make sense. For one, she mentions </span>
  <em>
    <span>three </span>
  </em>
  <span>stand users, but there were clearly only </span>
  <em>
    <span>two</span>
  </em>
  <span>, unless one of them were invisible. Siyeon chooses not to comment on this. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“The one that pulled me out, she called herself Bora,” she’s saying. “That can’t actually be her name. Her stand, Good Night, I think, it like… Made a pocket dimension, because we were still </span>
  <em>
    <span>there</span>
  </em>
  <span>, on the shitty sidewalk, but Siyeon wasn’t. It was just us.” She shakes her head. “I don’t know if she knows what a </span>
  <em>
    <span>stand</span>
  </em>
  <span> is, but she knows some of the rules. They all must.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon hums in agreement while wrapping a clean bandage around Siyeon’s hands. “What about the others?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Hell if I know. The one puts holes in things and the other just… Shadows, I guess.” Jiu throws her hands up in frustration. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon pushes the sleeves of Siyeon’s shirt up and checks her wrists. “What did</span>
  <em>
    <span> you</span>
  </em>
  <span> think of all this, Siyeon?” she asks. She picks up the antibiotic tube and smears some over the cuts. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I thought I was losing my mind,” Siyeon says. She winces. “Or that </span>
  <em>
    <span>Jiu</span>
  </em>
  <span>’s lost her mind. I’m still not convinced otherwise.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The girl tending her grins. “Oh, me too.” She opens a small square bandage and sticks it against Siyeon’s skin. “You get used to it after a while.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“How long have you known each other?” Siyeon asks, tilting her head to look at Jiu. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon shrugs. “Six years? Seven? Something like that.” She pats Siyeon’s wrists. “Anything else I can’t see, or is this good?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon flexes her hands, which is made difficult by the wrappings. “No, I think this is fine. Thank you.” She starts to stand up, only to sit back down when a thought hits her. “How am I going to explain this to my parents?” she asks no one in particular. “Crap, they’re gonna call the cops no matter what I say.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“If you’d like to stay over, you’re welcome to,” Jiu says. “The couch is comfortable. But… If you’d rather just leave now, that’s also fine.” She sniffs. She’s holding a tissue, which is dotted with blood from her nose and lip, presumably. “Oh, and if you’d like to leave and never come back, that’s also completely valid. I’m getting the money tomorrow, so I can still pay you.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon turns around and grabs a washcloth, then runs it under the sink. Siyeon looks back at her hands. “It’s not normally like this, right?” she says. “Including the </span>
  <em>
    <span>mob</span>
  </em>
  <span> thing?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“It wasn’t before, but now that we know, we might just keep running into each other, and I don’t want to put you in danger, or anything.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Hold still,” Yoohyeon says, and she starts to wipe down Jiu’s face. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon hesitates. Logically, she should leave right now. It’s been twelve hours since she met this strange woman and her illegal business, and she’s already gotten injured </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> involved with the mob, maybe. Not to mention the strange invisible power thing; she has no way of experiencing that, unless she somehow develops a “stand” of her own. She should get up and back away. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Jesus,” Yoohyeon mumbles. “Thank God nothing’s broken.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon closes her eyes. She could. Her legs are working fine; the only thing holding her down right now is the completely illogical and totally immutable fact that she doesn’t want to leave. It’s not like she has anywhere else to go, after all; this job was a last resort of a last </span>
  <em>
    <span>resort</span>
  </em>
  <span>. If she backs out now, she’s back to square one, and only a couple thousand won richer. Her mother’s depending on her. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>And, to be honest, she’s also kind of curious. There’s something strangely tantalizing about this new world that’s only sort of been exposed to her. As much as she hates to admit it, she wants to learn </span>
  <em>
    <span>more</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It’s like she’s fallen into a fantasy novel. It’s exciting. And probably stupidly dangerous. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Oh, well. It’ll make for a fun story to tell her own kids. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I think I’ll stay,” she says, opening her eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She gets no response. Yoohyeon is focusing </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> hard on the scrapes on Jiu’s face - she’s got her thumb holding the woman’s chin up - and it feels like Siyeon’s intruding on something she shouldn’t be. She blinks. Seven years of friendship. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I also think I’ll stay the night,” she says, a little louder this time. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Sick,” Jiu says. The moment is broken. “There’s blankets under the TV.” She nudges Yoohyeon’s face away from hers. “Want me to show you?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon shakes her head. “I think I can find some blankets,” she says pushing herself off of the bathtub. “Thank you, though.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She eases behind Yoohyeon and heads out into the sitting area. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yoohyeon sticks a bandage on top of Jiu’s eyebrow and sighs. “Dammit, Minji,” she says, brushing her fingers down her face as she pulls away. “You need to stop getting hurt.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu’s lips twitch into a smile. “But if I do that, you won’t take care of me,” she says, her voice a mock whine. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>already</span>
  </em>
  <span> cook for you,” the other girl replies. “I don’t need to be your live-in nurse, as well.” She rolls her eyes and steps back. “You should be fine in the next few days. Can you… Try </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> to work with the mob from now on? Like, we’ve both done a lot of stupid things, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>damn</span>
  </em>
  <span>, if that doesn’t top the list.” She starts to pack the first aid kit back up. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu shrugs. “I… Will make an honest effort. In my defense, I didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” She stands up and stretches, cracking her back. “Morioh doesn’t really have any organized crime. How was I </span>
  <em>
    <span>supposed</span>
  </em>
  <span> to?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon pulls the med kit down and slides it back under the sink. “I’ll take it.” When she pops her head back up, she’s grinning. “Can I tell you the good news now? I promise, it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> good.” She claps her hands excitedly. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Absolutely, Yoohyeonie,” Jiu says. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>They walk out of the bathroom - or, more accurately, Jiu gets pushed out the bathroom, into a now dark sitting room. It appears that Siyeon is either already asleep or doing a very good job pretending to be. Yoohyeon flicks the light off and nudges Jiu’s shoulder. “Maybe we should go upstairs,” she whispers. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The only noise that Siyeon makes to suggest that she hears them is a little snort. The duo skirts the couch and heads back towards the staircase. Yoohyeon takes the steps three at a time. “Okay,” she says, hopping on her toes at the landing. “Have I told you about the </span>
  <em>
    <span>sapphire dragon</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu tilts her head. “Maybe?” she says. “It feels familiar.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“So, I’ll just refresh your memory-” Yoohyeon grabs Jiu’s hand and drags her down the hallway- “then! In a lot of like, ancient, ancient cultures, like, not China ancient, even </span>
  <em>
    <span>before them</span>
  </em>
  <span>, there’s a whole bunch of legends about this dragon, see.” She pushes the door to her tiny  room open. “The most common descriptors are like, some kind of gem, colorful - most translations that have been published use </span>
  <em>
    <span>sapphire</span>
  </em>
  <span>, since it’s just the easiest term.” She lets go of Jiu’s hand and slips into her desk chair which is in the middle of the room. It spins around with her in it. “There’s enough mention of it across all these different places that we, like the anthropology community, we’ve thought that it might actually be </span>
  <em>
    <span>real</span>
  </em>
  <span>, like some artifact.” She pulls her laptop off her desk and pushes it open. “And guess what?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu steps around the pile of laundry in the middle of the floor and takes a seat on Yoohyeon’s bed, which is squished against the left wall. “What?” she asks, smoothing the sheets around her. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I think I might have </span>
  <em>
    <span>found </span>
  </em>
  <span>it!” Yoohyeon grins and starts scrolling through something on her laptop. “Or, well, located it!” She turns the computer around and points at the screen, which is showing a map of the Pacific Ocean. “I was looking through some old texts, like analyzing this thing, see- it’s not really super discussed anymore, since people had been searching for literally like, a hundred years or so, and then I just… I found it, Jiu.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu takes the laptop from her and squints at the screen. In the center of the map is a tiny, unnamed green blob that’s barely large enough to count as an island, especially compared to the size of the Philippines on the far side of the screen. “There?” she says, cocking an eyebrow. “In the middle of nowhere?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon nods excitedly. “Yup,” she says. “Right there. It’s got the most evidence, see - it’s part of this group of islands that were easily accessible before the whole </span>
  <em>
    <span>global warming </span>
  </em>
  <span>thing, which there’s theories about inhabitants that like, were apart of other cultures and then got isolated… There’s a lot of boring stuff, but back when the search for the dragon was like, a </span>
  <em>
    <span>thing</span>
  </em>
  <span>, people were pinning the place where the dragon came from to cultures we had information about, but that just wasn’t the case, see. And these islands, or this one, at least, is connected to groups we haven’t studied as much.” She shrugs. “Gimme the laptop back.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“So, you think you’ve found it?” Jiu says. “But you don’t know for sure?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Here’s the really cool part.” Yoohyeon drops her laptop rather carelessly on the table. “Y’know how we </span>
  <em>
    <span>technically</span>
  </em>
  <span> are connected to the university, even though we’re our own separate entity?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Uh-huh.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Professor Bang wants the dragon for the university, and the last thing he said-” Yoohyeon jumps out of the chair and grabs Jiu’s shoulders- “he wants </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span> to go search for it! He says I should get some field experience! Jiu, do you know what this means?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu pulls away in surprise at the sudden intensity. “He wants you to go into the middle of nowhere?” she says. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Yes! Well, um.” Yoohyeon giggles. “When you put it like that, it sounds kinda shitty. No, he wants me to go because I found it, and he knows that I want field experience, and if it </span>
  <em>
    <span>isn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> there, there’s no, like, excess resource wasting, I guess.” She winces. “I’m not really making it sound better, am I?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“No, no, no!” Jiu waves her hands. “This is a great thing, Yoohyeon. Are there any other plans, or…?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon fidgets with her hands. “Well, not really. Me and the professor are still talking out the details. I don’t even know if this is gonna happen yet. But, if it does happen…” She rocks back and forth on her heels. “Would you like to come with me?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu blinks, completely taken aback by the request. “Me?” she echoes. “Why me?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“You don’t have to! I was just, well, thinking, maybe you’d <em>like</em> to.” Yoohyeon smiles. “I mean, you’re really strong, and smart, and we work together really well. And you have a stand, and Lord knows that could be </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>helpful.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu tilts her head. “How is that helpful?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Professor Bang thinks that when news breaks of this, it’s gonna spread. This is like Atlantis, for anthropology nerds. Or if someone found Jesus’s bones! This could be the missing piece to so many puzzles that I just </span>
  <em>
    <span>don’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> have time to explain right now.” Yoohyeon drops to her knees and grabs Jiu’s hands. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Please</span>
  </em>
  <span>? Please, please, please?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu smiles. “This is that important to you, huh?” she says. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“This is literally the most important thing in the world.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu grins, cupping Yoohyeon’s face in her hands. “Then it’s settled. We’ll find that dragon together.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon squeals, rockets to her feet, and tackles Jiu in a hug that knocks her backwards. “Thank you, thank you, </span>
  <em>
    <span>thank you</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” She giggles. “You are the </span>
  <em>
    <span>best</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Jiu!” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The older girl coughs.  “Y-Yeah, no-no problem, I c-can’t breathe,” she stammers, poking her attacker between the ribs until she rolls off of her. “We can talk about this more tomorrow.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Oh, yeah, definitely.” Yoohyeon sighs joyfully and stretches her arms over her head. “Gotta get the specific plans in place. Gotta contact Professor Bang. Get supplies, get transport…” She twists her head to look at Jiu, a grin lighting up her entire face. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu holds up a finger. “We should talk to Siyeon, too. This could technically fit as a case, since we’re searching for something, and it’d be horribly unfair to kick her out so soon. Especially since she mentioned something about ‘saving someone’s life’ earlier today.” She watches Yoohyeon’s lips twitch, almost like she’s disappointed in something. “Besides, she’s a very, well… Smart person. She could be helpful in searching for the dragon.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The younger girl nods. “Yes, you’re right. But we also should talk about this tomorrow morning.” She pokes Jiu’s side. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>You’ve</span>
  </em>
  <span> had a really long night. Go to bed.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu closes her eyes. “I think I’m comfortable here, actually,” she says, feigning a massive yawn. “I might just fall asleep </span>
  <em>
    <span>right now</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon huffs and pushes her out of the bed. “Good </span>
  <em>
    <span>night</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Minji,” she says, as Jiu falls on her ass on the floor. “Remember to change your bandages tomorrow morning.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Handong rubs her shoulders, trying to warm up. It’s oddly cool for a summer evening - not that her thin white shirt is helping retain much heat. She blows on her hands and leans over the edge of the roof she’s been perched on for the past hour. Any minute now, one of the targets should be walking back this way. YG had promised her </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> much. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>His warning echoes in her ears. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Bring back the money, Handong</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I do not need to tell you what will happen if you don’t. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She takes a deep breath, touches her hands to the belts wrapped around her waist. Her hand crossbow is holstered on her left hip, the bolts in a pack on her right. She runs her thumb down the bag to do a quick count. Fifteen. She’s going to be fine.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The sound of footsteps draws her attention to the alleyway beneath her. She peeks her head over the side of the building and catches sight of the top of a pink head of hair. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Pink</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It clicks in her mind, with one of the papers her boss had shown her. Pink hair belongs to Lee Gahyeon. And Lee Gahyeon should have the money. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Handong stands and tracks the movement of the girl. She’s headed east, towards one of the busier roads. If Handong wants the money, she needs to move now. She slips towards the fire escape, swings her legs around it, and propels herself off. The landing is a bit harsher than she expects, but she ignores the pain. She draws her crossbow and points it. The girl - Gahyeon - freezes. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Wh- What do you want from me?" she stammers, taking a step back. She holds up two vinyl gloved hands in surrender. At her waist dangles a heavy bag. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Handong nods her head at the bag. "Hand over the money," she says. She keeps her voice calmer than she feels. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Gahyeon shakes her head; her expression can only be summed up as </span>
  <em>
    <span>terrified</span>
  </em>
  <span>. "N-No! How did… No, you can't have it!" Her voice hikes an octave in fear. She continues to back up. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Handong wonders if she will have to shoot the girl. She doesn't want to. She keeps her expression passive and matches her step for step. "I won't shoot you if you give me the money," she says. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Gahyeon shakes her head again. She drops her hand, fumbles at her belt, pulls out a small gun of her own. It's shaking in her hand. "I'll shoot!" she says. "Just lemme pass!" </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She's not going to, Handong knows. If she really were going to fire the gun, she would have by now. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Dammit</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Handong lowers her crossbow and fires. The bolt sinks into the other girl's calf. She squeaks and drops to the ground, but keeps her hand on the gun. "I mean it!" she says. "I-"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She fires her gun, seemingly without meaning to, judging from the surprise on her face. Handong only barely manages to react in time. The bullet bites into her left arm. Luckily, she's still holding the crossbow. She hisses and steps to the side. "Look, I don't want to kill you," she says. She darts forward and tries to reload her crossbow. "Just- What the hell is </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>?"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Gahyeon scuttles backwards like a crab. "Boca!" she shouts. She's pointing at the ground beneath Handong's feet. Looming over her, glowing a dull blue, is undoubtedly a humanoid stand. It has no eyes or nose or ears; its mouth stretches in a wide, toothy grin. It lunges forward, diving for Handong's ankles with arms that seem to be disconnected from the rest of it body. Handong dodges at the last second. She leaps for the street just as a massive hole opens where she was a moment before. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"So this is how it is going to be," she says. She presses a hand to the bullet wound in her arm. "Deja Vu."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her own stand flows out around her, like a flickering, glitching silhouette. Gahyeon's eyes go wide. Boca tilts its head. "Wait, you have a power, too?" the girl stutters. She pushes herself as far back as she can, until she runs into the wall. "H-How?" </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Handong </span>
  <em>
    <span>could</span>
  </em>
  <span> answer that question, but she's already spent too much here. She needs to get the money and get back before YG assumes the worst. Hurriedly, she starts to stride over. "Give me the money, Gahyeon," she says. She fumbles at her belt, pulls a bolt out for her crossbow. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Gahyeon squeaks. "How do- How do you know my name?" she says, pointing at the ground under Handong's feet. Handong jumps at the same time as Boca. Another hole opens up just behind her. "D-Don't get closer! I'll- I'll-"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The gun has dropped from her hands, and she's using them to shield her face. Handong hops up back on the sidewalk, stretches her hand out. Deja Vu crackles and slips down from around her. "This isn't going to hurt," Handong says. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She stumbles into a hole that suddenly appears below her. "No, it won't," Gahyeon says. She's picked the gun up again; she cocks it and levels it at Handong's head. Her chest heaves with gasping, panicked breaths. "Get back."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Boca looms up behind Gahyeon. Handong rolls her shoulder, straightens up, feints to the right. The younger girl falls for the trick. Handong lunges and wraps her arm around her neck. Deja Vu peels itself off of Handong's skin, presses its glowing white hands to Gahyeon's face. She opens her mouth, but no sound comes out. Her eyes shoot brilliant white light. She goes completely still. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Handong leans back on her heels and sighs. Truthfully, it would've been easier to do this right off the bat, but she still has issues using her stand on those without one. Deja Vu lifts its hands, holding several glittering orbs between them. Images flicker in each of them, like previews. A shorter woman wiping her hands on her jeans; a filing cabinet in the process of breaking; Handong staring down, crossbow in hands. She points at the last one. Her stand separates it from the others and holds it delicately. "Wait," she says, stretching over Gahyeon's stiff body. "Not yet."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She tucks her crossbow back in its holster. With her other hand, she starts undoing the ties around the bag. It's held in place with a slip knot; it comes off easily. She opens the bag and peers into it. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her heart sinks. There can't be more than a million won in here, and yet Gahyeon is supposed to have gotten this money from SM, one of YG's biggest rivals. Handong reaches into the bag, rifles through the bills. Sure enough, there's just over nine hundred thousand won, barely befitting one of the richest organized crime groups in all of South Korea. A million explanations swirl through her mind. Perhaps this is all the girl could carry, or there's been an error on YG's side, or maybe SM knew this was coming and prepared accordingly…</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She stares at the bag. There's no point in bringing this much back, especially when YG had said that it would be closer to five or </span>
  <em>
    <span>ten</span>
  </em>
  <span> million. But she has to bring something back, or else she'll die. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She stuffs five hundred thousand won into her pocket and ties the bag back onto Gahyeon's belt. Then, she pushes herself back to her feet. The girl can keep some of it. Clearly, she has a reason for taking the money; even if it is simply to mess with SM, it has to have been a good motive. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her stand is still holding the orb. She sees herself reflected in it - dropping down from the roof above, drawing the crossbow, aiming - over and over and over again. She touches it to play the memory back, make sure that it's the right one. The scene that just occurred plays in triple time, right up to where she jumps on the girl. Then, it starts over again. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She snaps her fingers. Her stand crushes the orb in its hands; glittery dust falls from its fingers and disperses. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She has a few minutes before Gahyeon will wake up. She pauses, staring back at her. With the removal of her stand, the girl's relaxed. It almost looks as if she's asleep. Her breathing catches in her throat. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Handong takes that as her cue to leave. She pulls herself up on the fire escape, clatters up the metal stairs, and starts on her way back to YG Headquarters. </span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>stand fights are OBSCENELY fun to write</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. tension</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The sunshine wakes Siyeon up the next morning. That, and the horrible squeak from the pipes as someone is taking a shower. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She sits up and blinks slowly, trying to remember where she is. Her gaze drops to her hands and the bandages that cover it. Right. She’s at Jiu’s house, on the ugliest green couch she’s ever laid eyes on, after the weirdest night of her life and quite possibly the worst decision she’s ever made. She flexes her fingers. They don’t seem to hurt as much anymore, which is a good thing. Perhaps she’ll be able to take them off today. It would make the whole situation easier to explain to her parents. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her parents. Oh, crap. She hasn’t texted them since nine o’clock last night. They must be worried sick.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She pulls her phone out of her pocket and prays that there’s still a charge, somehow. Mercifully, she’s still got ten whole percentage points left. Perhaps she should ask to borrow a charger before she leaves. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Three people texted her last night - her sister, her father, and some college scouting service that she keeps forgetting to turn off. She deletes the last one and hurries to type an answer to the first two. To her sister’s [ siyeon? where are you???? ] she replies [ at a friends lol, sorry, wild night ]</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>To her father’s [ Siyeon. Why does your phone say you’re at SM Jewelry? ] she replies [ dared by a friend, it’s all good, just spent the night with her ] and hopes that it’s a convincing enough response. She’s not quite stupid enough to do such a thing normally, but hopefully her father will just assume that it was her friend’s fault and not press her any further. She sighs and flops back over on the couch. There’s a crick in her neck from how she was sleeping. Grumbling, she massages the spot with stiff fingertips. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Oh!” chirps Yoohyeon from the stairs in the other corner. “You’re awake! Good morning, Siyeon!” She skips out into the sitting area, a broad smile on her face. She’s wearing a fluffy pink pyjama shirt with a shark hood. “How’d you sleep?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon sits up again, tracking the joyful girl with her eyes. “Like a rock,” she says. “You seem happy.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon grins wider. “Really? I’m surprised you noticed.” She shuffles her way over to the kitchen. “Yeah, I got some exciting news last night.” Swings the refrigerator door open and starts rummaging through it. “You hungry? I can whip something up real quick.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The screeching from the pipes fades; so does the sound of rushing water. Jiu must have finished her shower. “You don’t need to,” Siyeon says, scratching the back of her neck. “Really, I don’t want to be a burden. I should be getting home soon.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon pulls out a carton of milk and places it on the counter. She looks almost disappointed, much to Siyeon’s surprise. “Well, at least stay for a bit longer,” she says. She grins. “I know </span>
  <em>
    <span>Jojo</span>
  </em>
  <span> has some news for you.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I can hear you!” Jiu shouts from the bathroom. Yoohyeon breaks into a fit of giggles. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon rolls her eyes. “She did promise me the money today,” she says. “I suppose I can stay for a little bit.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon pulls a carton of eggs out of the fridge. “Then I’m making you breakfast,” she says. “And this is a threat. You’re not getting out of this.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon pushes the heavy tan blanket that she slept under off of her legs and stretches. “At least let me help,” she says. “I mean, I’m not the best in the kitchen, but I can do something.” She kicks her legs off the couch and walks over to the high table. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon shakes her head. “Nope,” she says, tapping a seat nearby. “You can help me by keeping me company.” She bends down and opens a cabinet. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon slips into the seat. “Fine, then,” she says. She leans on her hand. “So, what’s the news from last night?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The other girl pokes her head up, placing a blue glass bowl on the counter next to the fridge. “I thought you’d never ask.” She picks up a few eggs. “So, you know how I work at the museum?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Uh-huh,” Siyeon says. She watches Yoohyeon crack them. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Well</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Yoohyeon says, before launching into an excited stream of chatter about myths and legends and hidden artifacts. She punctuates her speech with wild gestures with whatever kitchen utensil she happens to be holding at the time, talks the entire time through a wide grin. Siyeon can barely keep up. Something about a sapphire dragon and its discovery. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon’s infodump is interrupted by the bathroom door squeaking open. Jiu steps out, holding a bundle of clothing and towels in her arms. She’s dressed in a frilly lilac blouse and black jeans and a shiny belt. Fresh bandages dot her face - one over her eyebrow, one over the bridge of her nose, one on her cheekbone. “Don’t scare her,” she teases. “Good morning, Siyeon.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“She’s not scared!” Yoohyeon says. She glances at Siyeon, laughs awkwardly, and looks back at her bowl of beaten eggs. “You want anything specific, by the way?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu shakes her head. “I’m gonna drop this upstairs and then </span>
  <em>
    <span>we</span>
  </em>
  <span>-” she gestures at Siyeon; a sock slips from the bundle in her arms- “have some business to discuss. Oh, dammit.” She stoops to pick up the fallen clothing. “Be right back.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“It’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>always</span>
  </em>
  <span> business with you,” Yoohyeon mutters, though not unpleasantly. She picks up a pan from a rack on the wall and places it on the stove. “You weren’t scared, right, Siyeon?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The other woman shakes her head. “Not at all,” she says. She switches which hand she’s leaning on. “Though it was a little hard to follow.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon blushes. “Ah, yeah. I can get a bit rambly when I get excited. Sorry.” She opens the fridge again. “You like tofu?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Mm-hm. So this dragon thing, you really think you found it?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The girl picks up a block of tofu and a knife. “I’m pretty damn sure. Professor Bang thinks so, too.” Starts to cut the block into cubes. “I think that’s what Jiu wants to talk about, anyway. See… Well, she'd do a better job explaining </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>, anyway." She smiles broadly and starts to put the tofu into the pan. It sizzles. "How're your hands, by the way? Didn't get a chance to change the bandages?"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon looks at one of her hands and shrugs. "I mean, I did just wake up," she says. "Haven't had much of an opportunity." </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon hums. "I can probably change 'em for you, if you'd like. Bandaging your opposite hand is </span>
  <em>
    <span>hard</span>
  </em>
  <span>." She stirs the tofu around with a spatula. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"All </span>
  <em>
    <span>right</span>
  </em>
  <span>!" Jiu calls, jogging back down the stairs. She holds her laptop in one hand. "First things first, the money." She slides into the seat opposite Siyeon, opens the laptop, and sighs. "I have to go report to Irene in person to get it, and honestly, if she and SM Jewelry are, like, the mob-"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Oh, they are," Siyeon says. She checks under her nails nonchalantly. "Everyone in Seoul knows that. We talked about this."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu sighs and presses her fingers to her temples. "We won't know that until we ask and I am not gonna ask. Anyway, just </span>
  <em>
    <span>to be safe</span>
  </em>
  <span>, I'm going to go by myself and not mention you. In case something really is up." She taps something on her laptop. "From the agreement we had, I should be sending you…" Squints at the screen. "Um, about two hundred twenty five thousand? Does that sound good?</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon's eyes widen. "That- Yeah, that sounds about right," she says. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The purple haired woman beams, clapping her hands. "Do you have, like, CashApp or something? I can just send the money to that when I get it. Which should be soon, I'll head out after breakfast."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon nods. "Yeah, I can text to you - that is </span>
  <em>
    <span>your</span>
  </em>
  <span> phone number, right?" </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Check </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> out!"  Yoohyeon chirps, as she flips the eggs in the pan. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu rolls her eyes. "Don't play with my food," she says. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Who said this was for you?" Yoohyeon cocks an eyebrow. "Maybe it's all for me and my new friend Siyeon." She grins and nudges Siyeon's side. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Anyway</span>
  </em>
  <span>," Jiu says, clapping her hands again to attract attention back to herself. "Now, for the next order of business - our next case. Er, project." She shrugs. "This is a bit complicated. You heard Yoohyeon talking about the dragon, right?"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon nods again. "How could I not? What about it?" </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu drums her finger on the table. "She's been asked by Professor Bang - her boss at the university, see - to go down to fetch it, and she wants </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>-" she presses her hand to her chest- "to come with her, and, well, she's paying for it, so, it's a case for HFPI - the hunt for the Sapphire Dragon." She pauses, seemingly for dramatic effect. "And, well, it wouldn't be fair of me to just snatch you up, especially because we've known each other for eighteen hours, and you've almost died in my car." Smiles wrily. "So, I'm giving you a choice. Either you can come with us to find the dragon, or you can stay here, and we can work together again when I return."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Oh, </span>
  <em>
    <span>dammit!</span>
  </em>
  <span>" Yoohyeon hisses. "Forgot bowls." She ducks down to open the cabinet. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"You mean, leave the country?" Siyeon asks, raising an eyebrow. "And… Did you plan this?" She squints at the woman across from her. "Is this a scam?"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu recoils. "What? No!" Shakes her head rapidly. "Trust me, I hadn't planned for any of this. This is just… Well, an unexpected surprise." </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon twists around, depositing a bowl on the table, and winks. "Besides, you think she's smart enough to plan something like this?" she says. Jiu gasps and swats her shoulder; she turns back around, giggling. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"You aren't! Helping!" The eldest groans and rubs the bridge of her nose. "Look, the point is, it's an offer. You don't need to take it up on it. We're still working on the price, too, but right now, we're working with a price of about five hundred million-"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Five hundred million?" </span>
  </em>
  <span>Siyeon gapes, pressing a hand to her mouth. "Five hundred million won? For an artifact?"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu nods. "This is quite the artifact," she says. "Split between the three of us, it would be, well, about a hundred million each, but it would be for a few weeks of work."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She continues to talk, but Siyeon's barely paying attention. Money signs are spinning in front of her head. </span>
  <em>
    <span>A hundred million won</span>
  </em>
  <span>. With that much money, she could do so much - pay for her mother's treatment, pay for her sister's schooling, return to school herself, buy a new house, buy a new car, new clothes…</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She blinks back into reality as Yoohyeon slides a bowl towards her roommate. "I'm sold," she says. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu lifts her head, holding a spoon in one hand. "Hang on," she says. "Are you sure about this?" </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Not at all," Siyeon says. "But I don't really have a choice." She looks down at the interesting mess in her own dish. "Look, this whole thing is extremely suspicious, but I don't have any other options-"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu nods, humming. "I get it," she says. "You mentioned it yesterday, sort of. But honestly, I'd rather if you maybe… thought on this for a bit? I don't want you to rush into something." She smiles softly. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon sighs. "If you say so."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"You can just text me later with your final decision." Jiu takes a massive bite of her breakfast. "When I give you the money, maybe, if you really can't wait." Covers her mouth with her hand, raises her eyebrow. "Are you going to need a ride home, by the way? The car's still drivable, even without the windshield."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon shakes her head. "No, I'll just walk. But thank you." She stirs the food with her spoon. "To be honest, I'm not that hungry anymore. My parents are probably worried sick, anyway." She slips off the seat and pushes her bowl aside. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon deflates a bit. "Aw, you're kidding, right? After I spent all that time on it?" She takes a seat next to Jiu and smiles at her. "More for us, then."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu shrugs. "If you say so, Siyeon. It was good to work with you." She dips her head. "Maybe you should change your bandages before you go, though." </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon flexes her fingers, peeling one of the band-aids off. "I'll do that when I get home, actually. Thank you, both." She offers each of the girls a soft smile, bows her head, and turns to leave. "See you hopefully soon."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon waves as she goes, and Jiu nods a goodbye. Siyeon heads out the door and down the steps. She can't tear her thoughts from the </span>
  <em>
    <span>one hundred million won. </span>
  </em>
  <span>It feels too good to be true, like she's walking headfirst into a scam. The logical part of her brain is telling her </span>
  <em>
    <span>don't do it</span>
  </em>
  <span>, telling her </span>
  <em>
    <span>stay back</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She's barely paying attention to that, though; her feet are hardly touching the ground. One hundred million won.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her dog barks from the porch when she shows up fifteen minutes later. "Oh, it's just me," she says, laughing. "</span>
  <em>
    <span>Hi</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Orion. Hi."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The little brown pup yaps, its entire body wiggling with excitement. "There you are, Siyeon," her mother says. She's sitting on the porch and holding a book, but she doesn't look like she's been reading much. "Where were you?" </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She looks good today - the circles under her eyes are less present, the color in her cheeks is just a bit brighter, and Siyeon feels a bit of tension relaxing. She bends down to scratch Orion's ears. "Oh, just at a friend's," she says. "Relax, you." </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The dog is licking her fingers, making her giggle. Her mother sighs. "Well, you could have at least texted us that you weren't going to come home," she says. Her voice is scolding, motherly, a bit </span>
  <em>
    <span>too </span>
  </em>
  <span>breathy (but Siyeon doesn't want to think about that). "We were worried sick! You normally leave the troublemaking to your sister, after all." She laughs. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"I hadn't expected to stay out so late," Siyeon replies, lifting her fingers from her puppy's sharp teeth. "I'm sorry. I was trying to find a job…"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her mother gasps. "Oh, your </span>
  <em>
    <span>hands</span>
  </em>
  <span>- what happened to them?" She reaches her hands out, picks up Siyeon's gently. "They're all </span>
  <em>
    <span>bandaged</span>
  </em>
  <span>. What did you do?" </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon chuckles awkwardly and pulls her fingers away. "There was, ah, a bit of an accident. Nothing too serious, the car just bumped the curb." She talks too fast, like she always does when she's lying. "It's fine, though-</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Oh, sweetie…" Her mother frowns, curls her hand around her daughter's. "You don't need to put yourself in danger for me. I don't want you doing anything </span>
  <em>
    <span>illegal</span>
  </em>
  <span> for my sake. I'll be fine, Siyeon. I promise." </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"You're home!" her sister yells, popping her head out of the doorway. "Dad wants to talk to you." She's holding a laundry basket. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon pulls her hand away from her mother's, sighs, shoves it in her pocket. "I-I know, Mom. I wouldn't, promise." </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She turns and walks into the house before she can lie any further. She's already made up her mind, but her mother doesn't need to know about Jiu or any of that. She doesn't want her to try and dissuade her, doesn't want to hurt her. What Siyeon wants more than anything is for her to just… get better. And this is the only way. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her father is sitting in the study, at his neatly organized desk, typing away on his shiny new Macbook; he doesn't even flinch when Siyeon knocks on the door. "You're okay," he says by way of greeting. His brown eyes soften, just a bit, before he adjusts his rectangular glasses and his expressions snaps back to normal again. "Don't worry us like that again. You </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span> know-"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"I didn't </span>
  <em>
    <span>mean</span>
  </em>
  <span> to go to SM, and nothing happened, anyway," she says, waving her hand coolly. "It was fine-"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her father lifts his eyebrows. "What did you do to your hand?" He pushes his chair away from the desk and walks over to her. "You didn't get into a fight, did you?" Picks up her hand, pulls his glasses down, examines it. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon tenses. "Of course not, Dad," she says. "The car just skipped the curb and the window broke and my hand got cut-"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Who were you with? Which </span>
  <em>
    <span>friend</span>
  </em>
  <span> of yours would be so foolish?" He lets go of her hand and walks back to his desk. She gets the distinct feeling that she's been caught in a trap. He knows she doesn't have many friends, especially since her mother got sick, especially since she threw herself into the job that she no longer has. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She curls her hand into a fist, shrugs, shifts her weight. "Just… Her name's, uh, Yoohyeon, and she's an old university friend," she says. </span>
  <em>
    <span>That's right, keep lying, this isn't suspicious at </span>
  </em>
  <span>all</span>
  <em>
    <span>. </span>
  </em>
  <span>"Only recently reached back out to me, after she heard about Mom. May help me find a job."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She tries to smile, but it's difficult to maintain under her father's cool, scrutinizing gaze. He's looking at her like she's a spreadsheet, just data points to analyze. She has no idea what she'd do if he catches her. She's still not sure last night actually happened, even with the bandages still around her hands. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She shrinks just a little bit. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Luckily, he says nothing, just purses his lips and nods. "Right. Well, it's good that you have someone to talk to, finally." He pulls his chair out and takes a seat. "It's not healthy to keep your stress all bottled up like that. Takes years off your life." Adjusts his laptop screen, his glasses. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He's avoiding something. Siyeon gets a sinking feeling in the bottom of her stomach. "What do you want to talk to me about?" she asks. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He says nothing for a long, long time, just tap-tap-taps at his stupid Macbook. "There is good news," he finally says, "and, well, bad news." </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The sinking feeling grows deeper. She swallows, leans forward a bit. "Bad news first…?" she ventures, but she doesn't want to know, she really doesn't.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He takes a deep sigh and closes his laptop. "There's hope, Siyeon," he says. "Your mother's been approved for an experimental treatment. Current studies have shown </span>
  <em>
    <span>excellent</span>
  </em>
  <span> rates of survival for people with her specific type of cancer. If we can get her that treatment, we can get her some more time." </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"That's fantastic news!" she says, before he can finish his sentence. A grin stretches across her face; she covers it with her hands. "So she'll be saved-"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>However</span>
  </em>
  <span>-" he holds up a finger and sighs again- "it's only available in the United States, and the estimate I received puts the price somewhere in the two hundred </span>
  <em>
    <span>million </span>
  </em>
  <span>won range. We may be allowed to pay in installments, but the deposit they require is, well, eighty million, just to be sure that we won't back out." Drops his gaze to the ground. "I don't know if I can get that together in time."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon's face falls; her shoulders slump. "You're kidding," she breathes. "Two hundred </span>
  <em>
    <span>million</span>
  </em>
  <span>? What are they doing, transplanting all her organs?" </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her father shakes his head and shrugs helplessly. "I don't know, Siyeon. I wish I could tell you, but I can't. All I know is that we have no other options. It's either we pay for the treatment and </span>
  <em>
    <span>maybe</span>
  </em>
  <span> gain a few more years, or we let her go."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Let her go. She presses a hand to her mouth. "No," she says, more to herself than anyone else. "We can't- </span>
  <em>
    <span>She</span>
  </em>
  <span> can't- That's not fair-"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She feels small, helpless. She is staring at her father with fear in her eyes and shaking. She can't breathe. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He shakes his head again. "I know it's not fair, but such is life. We have to say good-bye eventually." Spins his chair around again, so he's looking at his laptop. "It's going to be tough, but-"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"No!" Siyeon snaps. "You can't be serious, Dad." She steps forward and leans on the desk. "You're not- You're not going to just let her die, right?"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He looks up at her, defeat scrawled across the lines of his forehead. "I don't want to. Believe me, I don't want to-"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She digs her fingernails into the table. "She's not one of your fucking spreadsheets," she hisses; her voice trembles. "She's my </span>
  <em>
    <span>mom</span>
  </em>
  <span>, your </span>
  <em>
    <span>wife</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and you can't just- can't just give up on her, not like that, not when there's a chance-"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"What do you think we should do, then?" He sets his jaw, pries her fingers off the table one by one. "There's simply no way I could get the money in time. It's just easier this way."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon closes her eyes. "What if I did it?" she says. "Got the money? I could do it. I know how." Curls her fingers into fists. "And- And I could get it in the next few weeks, too, I know-"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She turns on her heel, already fishing her phone out of her pocket. Her father's chair clicks on the floor. She doesn’t bother to look at him, not until he puts his hand on her shoulder. “Siyeon. Listen to me,” he’s saying. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She just shrugs him off, glares at him over her shoulder. “Let me do this, Dad,” she says. Her thumb’s hovering over Jiu’s contact name. “We have a chance. Please.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He doesn’t say anything. His eyes soften, and Siyeon has to look away. “I suppose I can’t stop you,” he says. He shakes his head, takes his glasses off. “Don’t do anything stupid.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon guesses that that’s going to be the closest she comes to a blessing. She darts out of the office and towards the little kitchen, where she’ll sort of have enough privacy to make the phone call, and presses her phone to her ear. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu picks up on the third ring. “Hello?” she chirps. “I haven’t even sent the money yet.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I don’t care,” Siyeon says. She buries her hand in her pocket and clenches it in a tight fist. “I just need to take the job.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu coughs, like she’s surprised or something. “Well, okay then, Siyeon! Sounds like… a plan? Is everything alright?” She sounds genuinely concerned. “Are you sure? Because-”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon squeezes her eyes shut. “Of course I’m sure,” she says. “What do you need me to do?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I’m going to to talk to Irene now,” Jiu mumbles, probably more to herself than Siyeon. “And then Yoohyeon’s talking to the Professor… Tell you what. Why don’t you swing by our place tomorrow, and we can go from there. Sound good?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Uh-huh,” Siyeon says breathlessly. “Thank you, thank you, thank </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Thank </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> for helping me.” The older girl laughs awkwardly. “Seriously, we might have a bit of a chance now- did you hear that?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon blinks. “Hear what?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Must have been the wind. But I could have sworn I heard like… Oh, never mind.” Jiu laughs again. “I’m really not easing your nerves, eh? Sorry. I’ll see you tomorrow, then. Oh, and I’ll get you the money tonight.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She hangs up before Siyeon can ask any more questions. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Does it hurt?” Sua asks, tightening the bandage around Gahyeon’s calf. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Gahyeon huffs and gives her a look. “I got stabbed,” she says. “Of course it still hurts. It’ll take a minute for the nerves to heal.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sua steps aside and gives the younger girl some room. “It was just a question,” she says. “Better, worse, the same as last night?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Gahyeon tilts her head, stretches her legs a couple of times. “Better, definitely.” She leans down and rubs her wound. “Sorry. Thanks.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sua pats her shoulder. “Don’t worry. You’re fine.” She starts to collect up the bandages in her arms. “You sure you don’t remember anything?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The younger girl hesitates before shaking her head slowly. “Not a thing,” she says. “I know I got the money, and then I was running to meet you guys… And then I must have blacked out, or something. It’s weird.” Sighs, props her chin in her hands. “I’m really sorry. I know that it’s my fault we lost the money-”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Nope.” Sua points her finger at Gahyeon, perhaps a bit harsher than she’d like. “Not your fault someone jumped you. Maybe there was a tip-off or something. Everything’s complicated with the companies.” She turns to walk out of the room, fidgeting as she goes. “Stay here, okay? I’m gonna go get dinner.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>There’s a </span>
  <em>
    <span>fwump</span>
  </em>
  <span> as Gahyeon falls back onto the bed. “Good, I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>starving</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” she groans melodramatically. Sua rolls her eyes and eases the door shut behind her. She waits until she knows for sure that the other girl can’t hear her, then bites her hand and screams as quietly as she can manage. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dami pokes her head out of the kitchen, raising her eyebrows. “Are you okay?” she asks. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“We’re going to die,” is all Sua squeaks around the flesh of her palm. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dami blinks. “What do you mean?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sua marches right past her, towards the shitty bathroom of their shitty apartment, and throws the door open. “We’re going to </span>
  <em>
    <span>die</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Dami,” she says, pulling the medicine cabinet open and tossing the bandages haphazardly inside. “We don’t have enough money for our fucking dinner.” Drops the box back in the cabinet, drops </span>
  <em>
    <span>herself</span>
  </em>
  <span> on the toilet, pathetically. “Jihyo’s going to be pissed - unless she expected this, which I don’t even know how that’s possible, and-”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Calm down,” Dami says, but Sua just shoots her a vicious glare. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“No, </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> need to start freaking out!” she spits. “When I say that we’re almost dead, I mean it, Dami. It’s a miracle that we’ve made it </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> far with no jobs, no education, </span>
  <em>
    <span>nothing</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” She grabs Dami’s wrist. “We’re running out of options.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The younger girl, with the same coolness that she </span>
  <em>
    <span>always</span>
  </em>
  <span> has, peels her fingers off, one by one. “I applied for a job last week,” she says, taking a seat on the low bathtub across from the toilet. “We’re not totally screwed.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sua swallows. “And? Have you heard anything yet?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Well, no, but-”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She groans and buries her head in her hands. “That’s what I mean. No one’s going to hire any of us, at this point. You and Gahyeon are high school dropouts, and me- I have a criminal record. There’s no hope for us anywhere.” She brings her thumb to mouth, starts chewing her nail. “JYP won’t take us, not after our stunning performance last night. YG’s already roughed us up enough to tell us we’re not wanted. SM probably knows that we were the one who went after the jewelry shop last night. So that leaves…” She trails off. “Nothing. Out of options.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dami tilts her head. “That’s not exactly true. There’s got to be some place that could pick us up, or even just me or Gahyeon. I just haven’t found it yet. We just paid the phone bill, so that should make it easier to find one…” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sua sighs. “And then what? If you </span>
  <em>
    <span>can’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> find a job?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I’ve heard rumors of those Bangtan Boys up in the north of Seoul, looking for help. Not that I want to continue with this path, but if we have to, I guess that’s an option…” Dami taps her chin. “And the Ateez kids, they're not allied with any of the big three. Maybe they could be helpful."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sua snorts. "I doubt it. They're nice and all, but…" She sighs. "I can't believe this shit. I can't." Peers at Dami through half-lidded eyes. "Don't look at me like that."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The younger girl cocks an eyebrow. "Like what?"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Like nothing’s wrong.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Dami sighs. “I don’t mean it like that. We’re not totally screwed yet.” She reaches for, squeezes Sua’s hands. “There’s still a chance.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sua sighs. She’s starting to get the feeling that no matter what she says, she’s not going to be listened to, or at least, Dami’s not going to say what she wants to hear. “Forget it,” she mumbles, pulling her hand away and pushing herself to her feet. “I’m gonna go get lunch. We have enough money for </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>, at least.” She steps around the younger girl, pauses in the doorway. “And keep an eye on Gahyeon while I’m gone, will you? She’s shaken up still from last night.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Who wouldn’t be?” Dami says. “Sure thing. Stay safe out there.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sua rolls her eyes gently. “Yeah, right. It’s broad daylight. No one’s going to try anything in the middle of the day.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She hurries out before Dami can offer any of her pragmatic advice and make things worse. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The streets of this part of Seoul are not very busy, like usual in the middle of the work day. She clicks her way down the road, towards the McDonald’s that she’s visited so many times over the past couple of months. It’s not the </span>
  <em>
    <span>best</span>
  </em>
  <span> food they could eat, but she’s only got a couple thousand won in her pocket at the moment. She touches her wallet in her pocket, runs her thumb over the paper bills within. It’s dwindling. She swallows away the anxiety that's slowly building up. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She crosses the street at the cross section, catches a whiff of the sizzling French fries, and is stopped dead in her tracks by a hand grabbing the back of her vest. “And what do you think you’re doing here?” asks a voice that belongs to, quite possibly, the last person Sua wants to talk to on the planet. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Good Night,” she whispers, summoning the little stuffed rabbit that is her power and popping out into the pocket dimension. Bobby’s hand disappears from her neck. She darts forward. She could run. She </span>
  <em>
    <span>should</span>
  </em>
  <span> run, or else she’ll get her ass kicked and her money stolen and no food for </span>
  <em>
    <span>anyone</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>But she doesn’t.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She presses herself against the wall and pops back into reality. Bobby’s only mildly surprised by her disappearing act. She glares at him. “Getting food. What are </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> doing here?” she retorts.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“My job,” he says. “You know you shouldn’t be here, Sua. We’ve warned you how many times now?” He tilts his head, crosses towards her. She presses herself deeper into the brick wall. “You were supposed to be out of here a week ago.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sua juts her chin out, which does absolutely nothing to make up the height difference. “And you were supposed to tell me when this became YG’s turf,” she says. She balls her hands into fists. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Bobby looms over her a bit. “It’s always been,” he says. “We just decided to start enforcing it.” He presses one of his hands over her head. “You know the rules. Pay up or leave.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sua shrinks, her back scraping against the brick. “What if I didn’t?” she asks, cocking an eyebrow. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He smiles, cruel and cold. “You know the rules, Sua.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She’s gonna get her ass beat. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Refresh me,” she says, and she kicks him straight in the crotch. “Good Night!” She stays in this realm just long enough to watch him crumple backward before everything snaps around her and she starts running through a now empty street, aiming to put as much space between herself and the bruiser as she can. Her feet catch on the cracks; she stumbles, rights herself, and continues running. The McDonald’s on the corner is out of the question. She makes a hard right into an alleyway and dives behind a dumpster. She snaps back into the real world - and right into someone’s lap. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Uh… Sua?” asks Yeosang, who is </span>
  <em>
    <span>also</span>
  </em>
  <span> sitting behind the dumpster. “Are you alright?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sua yelps and rockets away from him and the dumpster. She snaps her jaw shut, peeks out of the alley towards the street. There’s no sign of anyone approaching. “Shh,” she hisses, pressing a finger to her lips. “Can’t let him hear us.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yeosang lifts his eyebrows in understanding. “I see,” he says. He pushes himself to his feet, dusts off his pants, tilts his head towards the other end of the alley, which is covered by a rusty chain link fence. “I was wondering why he’d stopped chasing me.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She shakes her head slowly. “YG’s finally on your asses too, huh?” she says. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"They've </span>
  <em>
    <span>been</span>
  </em>
  <span> on our butts," he says. "So who's throwing who under the bus this time?"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sua peeks out again, just in time to see Bobby stop in front of the alley. "Hear me out," she hisses to Yeosang. “Truce. For now.” Tilts her head towards the chain link fence. “Gimme your hand.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He hesitates. “How do I know you won’t sic him on me?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“You don’t. Just gimme your hand.” She lunges forward and grabs his wrist. “Good Night.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Hey!” Bobby yells. He runs towards them. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The universe </span>
  <em>
    <span>snaps</span>
  </em>
  <span> around them, and Yeosang and Sua are suddenly all alone. Sua pushes him towards the chain link fence. “Go, go, go!” she says. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He doesn’t move, just stares at her. “So </span>
  <em>
    <span>that’s </span>
  </em>
  <span>what your stand does.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sua jams her boot into one of the holes in the fence. “My what?” she says. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Stand.” Yeosang kicks a small crate towards the fence and uses it to boost himself. “That’s what it’s called.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sua spider-climbs her way up the fence, braces herself against the top of the building. “That’s a really dumb name,” she says. She peeks over the top of the fence. If she’s careful, she’ll be able to shimmy down the other side all in one piece. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yeosang props himself up over the top, looks down, grimaces. “Oh, god,” he whispers. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She grins at him, swings her leg over the side, and slides down the fence, the metal biting into her fingers as she goes. “What, scared of heights?” she teases. She blows on her stinging fingers. “Hurry up, or I’ll run off and leave you.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yeosang shakes his head, then shuts his eyes and throws himself over the fence. He skids down, stumbles, but keeps his balance. “Where are we?” he asks. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Right where we were,” Sua says. She hops up and down on her toes. “We got two minutes before we’ll be back in the real world. Let’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>go</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Before Yeosang can get a chance to respond, she takes off, feet pounding the pavement. She darts out of the alleyway on the other side and stumbles out onto the street. It would be stupid for her to head around to the McDonald’s she wanted to go to. But she doesn’t have the money for anything else. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Where are </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> going?” Yeosang asks, jogging up behind her. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“To grab some lunch. What about you?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He points down the road, in the other direction. “There’s a fantastic food cart down this way, if you’re still interested.” He smiles softly. “Out of YG’s territory, as an added bonus.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Count me in,” Sua says. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>They walk in silence until Good Night wears off, and then they melt back into the rest of society. It’s still relatively quiet for midday, and their sudden reappearance attracts a few stares from strangers. Of all the Ateez kids she could have run into, Yeosang is probably one of the better ones. He’s less competitive than Hongjoong, less dramatic than San. Tolerable. Perhaps in another world they’d have been friends. She'll have to settle for "not enemies'' for now.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>There's a line outside the food cart that stretches for a bit, past the hair salon, and they step back into line, next to each other. The TV in the corner of the window is rolling some news channel; it only catches her attention because there's an image of the very SM Jewelry shop she spent last night crouched behind. She tries not to stare. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yeosang whistles. “Damn. That was ballsy,” he says. He tilts his head towards the screen. “Trying to hit SM Jewelry? I wish we had the guts to do that.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sua can’t help it. She laughs. “Yeah, ballsy, definitely,” she says. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The boy stares at her, raises an eyebrow slowly. “Sua,” he says. “What’s so funny?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She stuffs her hands in her pockets. “What are you talking about?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>They make eye contact; Sua bites the inside of her cheek. Slowly, the line shuffles forward. “Oh, my God, Sua,” Yeosang says. “You’re insane.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I didn’t say anything!” Sua squeaks, hopping up on her toes. “Besides, it’s not like it was my idea- I was getting </span>
  <em>
    <span>paid</span>
  </em>
  <span> for it and-” She snaps her mouth shut, looks around the street cautiously. There doesn’t seem to be anyone around to be wary of, but that doesn’t mean there </span>
  <em>
    <span>isn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She bites her lip and shakes her head, fixes her gaze on the little television in the salon window. “Drop it. This isn’t the place.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yeosang whistles again. “And I thought </span>
  <em>
    <span>San</span>
  </em>
  <span> had some bad ideas,” he says. “Was it worth it?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Drop it, Yeosang,” Sua warns. “Seriously.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He holds his hands up. “Alright. I will. Congratulations, though. Not </span>
  <em>
    <span>anyone</span>
  </em>
  <span> can do that.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She thinks of the girls sitting in the car outside, of the stab wound on Gahyeon’s calf. “Yeah, well, we only barely did. Doesn’t matter anyway. Didn’t do anything.” She shifts her weight back and forth and continues to watch the news broadcast. The image of SM has shifted to some stock footage of a university. Students mill about, carrying books and papers; smash cut to an image of some museum in the middle of Seoul, presumably. Sua has to squint to read the text on the bottom of the screen. “Intern at Seoul Museum discovers location of precious artifact,” she reads aloud. “Huh. Weird.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The line shuffles ahead, just a bit. The screen now shows a middle aged man - Professor Bang, reads the label - who’s talking about something or other. The captions are even smaller than the rest of the screen. She gives up on trying to read it and just focuses on the pictures. A girl and the professor, the wide shot of the library at the University, a few sketches of a blue dragon, twisting and curling on the screen. Beneath the sketch flashes a number - </span>
  <em>
    <span>₩ 500,000,000 estimated value. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yeosang whistles again. “That is a </span>
  <em>
    <span>lot</span>
  </em>
  <span> of zeroes,” he says, his hands in his pockets. “Wonder what it’s for.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>But Sua’s not paying attention to that. She stares at the television screen in awe. Five hundred </span>
  <em>
    <span>million </span>
  </em>
  <span>won. They could certainly use that money. But how was she supposed to get it?</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She takes a step forward in line. She’s almost at the cart now; there’s just one more person in front of her. Say they were to get the dragon. What does she do with it? Sell it to one of the companies? Give it to the University? Pawn it on the black market?</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“What would you like?” the cook behind the cart asks, only half snapping her back to reality. He gestures at the variety of greasy foods covering his cart. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“The, uh, chicken, please. Three of them.” She fumbles for her wallet. She’s barely thinking about the food; she’s not even hungry anymore. The cook nods, selects three skewers, and puts them in a paper bag. Grabbing the bag and squeezing it to her chest, she pushes Yeosang’s shoulders with a bit too much force. “Sorry. Gotta go.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yeosang stumbles. “Hey? Where are you going?” he asks. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Good Night!” she whispers, and then she disappears, just to get home faster. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She’s got an idea. And that’s always dangerous. She stuffs one of her feet in the holes of the chain link fence and throws herself over top, scraping her knee in the process. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>the pyjamas yoohyeon is wearing is actually a set that i have and theyre so fucking cute</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. daybreak</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It’s been maybe four hours since Siyeon left, and the phone’s been ringing off the hook since.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“You’re popular,” Jiu teases, as Yoohyeon puts her phone back on the charger for maybe the third time since eleven. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon sighs. “I guess,” she says through a yawn. “But if Professor Bang calls </span>
  <em>
    <span>again</span>
  </em>
  <span> with another pointless update I’m gonna strangle him.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu’s stretched herself out on the couch so that Yoohyeon doesn’t have a place to sit. She grins innocently. “Don’t do that,” she chirps. “Then we won’t have any reason to go.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“We </span>
  <em>
    <span>could</span>
  </em>
  <span> just take the dragon for ourselves,” Yoohyeon says. She nudges Jiu’s legs, pushes them to the side, tries to make space for herself. Her roommate does not seem to be budging. Eventually, she gives up and just drops on her lap. Jiu squeaks. “It’s supposed to be really pretty. We could put it right there.” Yoohyeon waves above the TV screen, which is currently a blank blue wall. “It’d really spice up the place.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu laughs. “Oh, yes. Welcome to one of the tiniest houses in Seoul. Most of our furniture is from consignment shops - and this is one of the most precious artifacts in all of Asia.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“A beautiful blue dragon that has </span>
  <em>
    <span>something </span>
  </em>
  <span>to do with death,” Yoohyeon says. She leans over so that’s stretching over the other girl’s entire body. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu pushes her. “Uh, what?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon grins. “I dunno, exactly. No one does, obviously. But most of the legends we </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span> have point towards death. There’s a couple artworks and most of them are surrounded by skeletons and stuff. You know. Dead things.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Oh.” Jiu grimaces. “Maybe we should turn it over to the museum, then.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon laughs. “Afraid of death, Jojo?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu pushes her off her lap. It’s worth it. And then the phone starts ringing again. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Maybe you should go get that,” Jiu says, stretching herself back out on the couch again. Yoohyeon mumbles a swear word under her breath. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Luckily, this time the caller isn’t the professor; it’s a fast-talking reporter from </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hankook Ilbo</span>
  </em>
  <span>, who asks about Yoohyeon, and then proceeds to </span>
  <em>
    <span>demand</span>
  </em>
  <span> that she swing by the offices to get her photo taken within the next two hours, please and thank you, good-bye, </span>
  <em>
    <span>click</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon pulls the phone away from her ear, blinks at the black screen. “Well, uh, that was weird,” she says. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Hmm?” Jiu hums. She’s turned the television on. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon double checks the time - one-thirty, just in time for lunch. “That was the newspaper,” she says. “I think. They want my picture for something.” She unplugs her phone and slips it in her pocket. “So… I think I should head out, then.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Now you’re famous,” Jiu says. “You’ll be in the newspaper. That’s exciting.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon shrugs. She pats the pocket of her pants, double checks that she’s got her wallet on her. “I guess. I don’t know anyone who </span>
  <em>
    <span>reads</span>
  </em>
  <span> the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hankook Ilbo</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Dad might see it, but…” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu pops her head up over the top of the sofa. “Have you told him yet?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon shakes her head. “No. I don’t know if I’m going to.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Why’s that?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She shrugs. “It’s… He’s just… He’d try to tell me not to go, that I shouldn’t worry about this. Have you told your dad?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Not yet,” Jiu says. “Haven’t had time. I gotta call him soon, anyway, about… Everything.” She waves one of her hands in a vague gesture. “Are you going out?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon nods. “Want me to grab lunch?” she asks, spinning on her heel and heading for the door. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“And that’s why I love you, Yoohyeon,” Jiu says. “You know me so well.” She laughs. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon rolls her eyes, slips out the door, and takes a deep breath. Her stomach hurts. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She doesn’t bother to try and drive; the car’s still sitting in the driveway, a windshield less hunk of metal. So she plugs the address of the office into her phone, puts in her earbuds, and walks. At least it’s a nice day. She hums along and ignores the lyrics of the song that she’s listening to. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>There’s not many people walking around right now, which is good. It means she has space to just walk around, space out, think. There’s a lot riding on this right now. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She stops at the crosswalk and checks her phone. She’s gotten a text from her mother, just an image attached. She opens it. It’s a picture of Pie, curled up in her father’s lap with her little head on his shoulder. Yoohyeon smiles. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She misses her dog. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <em>
    <span>Damn,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she thinks. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m not gonna see her for a bit longer. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her thumb hovers over the call button. She </span>
  <em>
    <span>could</span>
  </em>
  <span> call her mother, could tell her about the dragon and everything. She could apologize for running off to live with Jiu and talk about how good things are. She could explain </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Instead, she just texts her </span>
  <em>
    <span>[ can u keep her for a bit longer? theres a lot goin on rn ] </span>
  </em>
  <span>and crosses the street. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The newspaper offices are a lot busier than she was expecting, for being such a small paper. She’s whisked in, back to a studio, posed and asked a few questions, and pushed right back out the door before she can even register what happened. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She stumbles back onto the street, blinking and confused. “Well, that was weird,” she says, entirely to herself, as she’s fitting her earbuds back in. At least it’s over with now.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She’s about to start figuring out what she should get to eat when a new, unfamiliar voice asks, “What was weird?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon jumps. “Wh- Where’d you come from?” she stutters, because the girl she’s now talking to </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely </span>
  </em>
  <span>wasn’t standing directly in front of her before. She also doesn’t seem to be all there; one of her legs is only half visible, from the knee up. Yoohyeon stares at her, blinking from the girl’s concerned looking face to her missing appendage and back again. “And, um, what’s wrong with your-”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Before she can finish her sentence, though, everything flows back together, and the stranger is all there once again. Yoohyeon stares. That’s… weird. That’s weird! She can’t say not possible - she’s seen the weird things that Jiu’s gotten herself mixed up in over the years - but it’s certainly not normal. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Briefly, she wonders if this girl is connected to the ones Jiu and Siyeon met the night before, but the descriptions don’t quite match up. Yoohyeon snaps her jaw shut. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The girl smiles. “Is something wrong?” she asks, and she sounds gentle and friendly. “Sorry, did I scare you? I didn’t mean to.” She points at the building behind them. “Do you work there?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon looks over at the offices behind her and shakes her head. “Uh, no. Why?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The stranger shrugs. “I saw an interesting story yesterday and I was looking for more information. It was only like, a sentence-” she draws a line in the air, as if to emphasize it. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“People read the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hankook Ilbo</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Yoohyeon interrupts. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The girl laughs. “I… Well, my... My </span>
  <em>
    <span>father</span>
  </em>
  <span> does,” she says. “And that’s where I saw the article. Or the sentence.” She’s talking really fast, really </span>
  <em>
    <span>stilted</span>
  </em>
  <span>. “Maybe you can help me. They look pretty busy.” Something about this conversation doesn’t feel right. “Did you… Hear about this thing called the sapphire dragon?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon feels herself light up. “Oh, yes! Actually, I know all about it.” She grins proudly, presses a hand to her chest. “I’m the one who located it.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The girl lifts her eyebrows. “Oh, really?” she asks. “That’s so cool! I had no idea.” She grins. “That means you’re Kim Yoohyeon, then?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon nods. “Yup, that’s my name. Who are you?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“How’d you find it?” the girl asks, completing ignoring Yoohyeon’s question. “I heard that people’ve been looking for years.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon blinks. “I actually have to go pick up some lunch,” she says. “but if you want to ask more questions, feel free to come with me.” She motions for the girl to follow her. “By the way, what </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> your name?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She’s once again ignored, but the girl’s walking next to her. “It’s so cool, how you’ve managed to find this… Thing,” she’s saying. She kicks a pebble across the sidewalk. “No one found it for years, right? How’d you manage that?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon shrugs. “Oh, just some looking around,” she says, as if it’s the most casual thing in the world. “There’s a lot of things people miss, y’know?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Where </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> it?” the girl asks suddenly. “Like, do you have it?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Not yet,” Yoohyeon says. “I don’t know </span>
  <em>
    <span>exactly</span>
  </em>
  <span> where it is, just that it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>probably</span>
  </em>
  <span> on this tiny island in the middle of the Pacific.” She lifts her phone up and holds in front of her. “Like, if this is the Philippines, the place the dragon’s at is about here.” Points at a spot below it. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The girl nods. “So who’s going to get it?” she asks. “Is it a free-for-all?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon laughs. “No, god! At least, I hope not.” She drops her hands, puffs out her chest proudly. “I’m in charge of the mission Professor Bang is sending. Me and my roommate and her coworker, we’re all going.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Three people?” The stranger tilts her head. “That’s not a lot for an expedition.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“It’s a tiny island.” Yoohyeon shrugs. “Why? You trying to find it yourself?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>A strange, strained sort of smile plays across her face. “I guess so.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>They stop walking in front of a little convenience store. It’s probably not what Jiu wanted, but Yoohyeon feels like there might have been a change of plans. She tilts her head. “I guess you’re right. I’m heading back to the house if you’d like to talk to Jiu. She’s my roommate and I don’t wanna just… Throw something on her.” She doesn’t want to add a total stranger to the team - not that Siyeon’s much better, given how little time they’ve known each other - but there’s no point in complaining now. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Besides, it might be helpful. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Jiu?” the girl asks. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon nods. “Well, technically her name’s Minji, but everyone calls her Jiu. I gotta grab some snacks. You’re welcome to follow, uh, what was your name again?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The stranger, once again, doesn’t answer the question. Yoohyeon’s starting to get a weird feeling in her stomach. “What’s her last name?” she asks, as they walk into the store together. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Kim-Higashikata,” Yoohyeon replies. She picks up a plastic basket and a can of lemonade. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The girl lifts her eyebrows. “Kim-Higashikata?” she says, slowly sounding out the syllables. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Yup. Her dad’s Japanese. What’s your name?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The girl slips between her and the shelf of meal-replacement snacks; she picks up a bar. Yoohyeon watches her. “Anne. My name’s Anne.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Anne,” Yoohyeon says. “Nice to meet you.” She snags one of the chocolate bars and tosses it in her basket. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Anne nods. She puts the bar back on the shelf. “When do you think you’re going out?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon shrugs. “Dunno about that one yet. Professor Bang said he’d get back to me. He’s my boss at the university.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Anne doesn’t respond to that, just heads for a different aisle. Yoohyeon decides not to think too hard about it and collects the rest of her and Jiu’s lunch. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The stranger’s already out of the store by the time Yoohyeon comes back, having spent significantly more money than she wished to. “The house is this way,” she says, slinging the plastic bag over her shoulder. “If you still want to come.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Anne smiles softly. “Yeah, I do.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>They walk, sometimes talking, sometimes in an awkward silence. Anne isn’t much of a talker, but she’s certainly curious. She keeps asking Yoohyeon questions about the dragon - what is it, why it’s important, why does she want it so much? And Yoohyeon is </span>
  <em>
    <span>glad </span>
  </em>
  <span>to answer. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“We don’t know much about it, of course,” she’s rambling, as they walk up the street towards the little house. “Just that it’s got something to do with death, somehow. Which is fascinating, y’know?” She stops in front of the mailbox, leans on the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Happy Face Private Investigators </span>
  </em>
  <span>sign. “Like, death has been such an integral part of our culture from the beginning. This specific legend isn’t as well documented, so we’d learn </span>
  <em>
    <span>so much</span>
  </em>
  <span> from the dragon, you know?” She grins. “Or maybe I’m just a nerd. I can’t tell anymore.” Giggles. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Anne looks sort of like she checked out a couple minutes ago. Yoohyeon’s laughter dies; she looks back at the house. “Uh, Jiu’s in there, if you want me to get her for you,” she says. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“That sounds good,” Anne says. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>But Yoohyeon doesn’t get a chance to, because the door to the house opens and Jiu herself steps out, her phone pressed to her ear. “Oh, whatever,” she’s saying. “I’ve gotta find- Oh, nevermind, she’s right here- Yeah, I know. I’ll talk to you later, Dad.” She hangs up. “Where did you </span>
  <em>
    <span>go</span>
  </em>
  <span>? It’s been like an hour.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon waves cheerfully. “I got sidetracked. This is Anne.” She points at the girl who followed her home. “Anne, this is Jiu.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Except she looks at the girl, only to see her looking </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> close to panicking. “Uh, is everything alright?” she asks. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Whistle,” Anne says, and she takes a step backwards out into the road. Her leg seems to vanish, melt away - then her hips, then her torso - then she’s gone, only to melt back into existence at the other end of the road. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Hey!” Yoohyeon calls. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu jumps off the steps, breaks into a run. “Get back here!” she yells. She points ahead of her. “Chase Me!”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon drops the bag and hurries after her, but by the time they’re at the end of the street, Anne’s gone, nowhere to be found. “What the hell?” Yoohyeon blurts. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu stops to catch her breath. “Good question,” she says. “I think… Oh, man, I’m hungry. I think </span>
  <em>
    <span>that girl</span>
  </em>
  <span>-” she waves her hand in a sweeping gesture than encompasses most of the surrounding area- “has been following me all day. And then- you. For some reason.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon freezes. “Following you?” she says. “What are you talking about?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu straightens up, combs her fingers through her hair. “I don’t know. I just know that the noise her stand made, it’s been following me all day.” She shakes her head and starts back towards the house. “And that makes five stand users in Seoul, too. </span>
  <em>
    <span>That’s</span>
  </em>
  <span> what I forgot to tell Dad.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Maybe it has something to do with the dragon,” Yoohyeon says. She hurries to catch up with her roommate. “Because she was asking me all kinds of questions about it… Oh.” She stops, drops her gaze to the ground. “I don’t think I should’ve answered them.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu shrugs. “Probably not. But I’m sure it’s fine.” She seems to have shaken off the encounter, because she turns on her heel to face Yoohyeon, a wide grin stretching across her face. “I told Dad about the dragon, right? And he said he’ll get us a </span>
  <em>
    <span>plane</span>
  </em>
  <span>. That should make getting there </span>
  <em>
    <span>way</span>
  </em>
  <span> easier. And faster, too!” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"When'd you get your pilot's license?" Yoohyeon asks. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu waves her off. "I haven't yet. But I don't think that's going to be an issue. I'm </span>
  <em>
    <span>close</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and we won't crash. I promise." </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"You sure about that, Jojo?" Yoohyeon says. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu groans. "Watch it, or I'll crash on purpose."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon laughs and smacks her side.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Handong doesn't get home until three in the morning. She cleans the gunshot, puts her bloody shirt in a basin of cool water, and passes out on the couch. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>It has been a long day.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She'd dropped the money on YG's desk and received absolutely no comment. There was no praise, no criticism - just a cool stare and then she was dismissed, with instructions to be back by six PM the following day. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She wakes up at noon following a dreamless sleep, today hazier than anything else. She'd forgotten to draw the blackout curtains on her tiny apartment the night before, and the sun hurts her eyes. She pushes herself upright, winces when she moves her left arm. That stupid gunshot is more annoying than anything else. With a mumbled swear word, she rubs her eyes and tries to wake up. God, the sun's bright. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She drags herself out of bed and into the bathroom. The bandage she slapped on last night peels off easily. The wound itself doesn't look </span>
  <em>
    <span>too</span>
  </em>
  <span> bad; the skin around it is red, and it hurts whenever she moves it, but it's not bleeding anymore, and it </span>
  <em>
    <span>should</span>
  </em>
  <span> be manageable. She opens the medicine cabinet and takes out a bottle of pain medication. Two now, two with breakfast. Lunch. Brunch. Whatever. Doesn't matter. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She pulls her shirt off with minimal pain and hops into the shower. In and out in five minutes, barely enough time for the water to heat up. But it wakes her up, at least. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She puts on a fresh bandage, splashes some cold water on her face. When she looks at herself in the mirror, even she's startled by how tired she looks. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Christ," she mutters. "This is </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> good for me."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She leaves the bathroom and goes to get dressed. It's unfortunate that she's run out of options.</span>
  
  <span>Days like these, when she doesn't have much to do, are her least favor</span>
  <span>ite days, because then she's got nothing to distract her. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She leaves her little bedroom, heads for the kitchen. One cup of coffee, two sugars. One banana. One seat on the couch to watch the news. She wishes it was closer to six. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her solitude is interrupted by a loud </span>
  <em>
    <span>meowing</span>
  </em>
  <span> from outside her window. She smiles, rolls her eyes. "There you are," she says. She sets her coffee on the armrest of the couch and crosses towards the window. Sure enough, sitting outside on the balcony and meowing plaintively is the small gray cat Handong's begun to feed. Handong pushes the window open and stares down at him. "Good afternoon, Nannan." </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Nannan meows and stretches his entire body. Handong can't help but smile. "What do you want from me, hm?" she asks, reaching down towards him. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <em>
    <span>Mrrrrow. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Feed me. That's what that means.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She picks him up and pulls him into the apartment. Pets aren't allowed, according to the terms of her lease, but she doubts a chubby stray that sometimes mooches off of her counts as a </span>
  <em>
    <span>pet</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She carries him into the kitchen and sets him down on the tile floor. He seems very talkative today. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Tuna sound good?" she asks, as if it matters; that's what he's getting, regardless of if he complains or not. The cat just meows louder while she opens a small can of tuna and deposits it in a little bowl. She sets it on the ground for him. "You're spoiled, Nannan," she says, watching him chow down on the fish. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He doesn't do anything. She bends down to scratch behind his ears, then heads back to the couch. The news program has switched over to a picture of SM Jewelry. She winces, takes a sip of coffee. Great. That's not going to bode well for future jobs. She may have to lay low for a minute. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>But as soon as she sits back down again, the image switches to a stock reel of a university and the students walking around. Handong leans on her hand and yawns. At least there wasn't </span>
  <em>
    <span>much</span>
  </em>
  <span> about the SM Jewelry hit; besides, it's not like she did any of the actual robbing. That had all been accomplished by that Gahyeon girl. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Still. It can't hurt to be too careful. She's learned </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> lesson many times over. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"An intern at the Seoul Museum has made a fascinating discovery," the reporter is saying. "Under the employment of anthropology professor Bang Kijeong, intern Kim Yoohyeon has potentially discovered the location of the mysterious sapphire dragon, an artifact that has captivated anthropologists for centuries."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>That makes Handong perk up. She leans forward, as if that will help her understand better. She's heard that name before - </span>
  <em>
    <span>sapphire dragon</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Since the first legends of the dragon were uncovered back in the late eighteen-hundreds, many people have searched, fruitlessly, for what it could mean," Professor Bang is saying. He's bald and round and looks basically like what Handong would imagine an anthropologist would look like. "Our logic is that, well, it's shown up in so many variations over the years, there's gotta be some truth to it, right? The problem is that we spent so long looking in the wrong places. It's </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> Korean or Japanese or Chinese in origin. It's not Filipino or Malay. It's something else entirely, something that we lost a millenia ago. But the interesting thing is, that the dragon remained, echoing throughout Southeast and East Asia and eventually, the world."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The image on the screen cuts to a picture - a blue dragon, twisting and writhing on the screen. And Handong recognizes it instantly. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"The sapphire dragon," she whispers. Nannan has finished eating and hops up on the couch next to her, butts his head into her hand. She pets him absently without taking her eyes off the screen. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"The University wants to house the artifact for research," the reporter continues. "It is believed to be worth five hundred million won."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Handong's jaw drops open. "Five hundred million," she says aloud. "That's… Insane." </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Nannan pushes his way onto her lap. "Hey, you. Watch it." She smiles, though, and continues to pet him. If there's one thing he's good at, it's being company. "I didn't realize that was so important."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He says nothing, just curls up in a tight ball. She scratches the scruff of his neck. "I thought it was just a story, and not a very popular one at that. No one had even heard of it when I was a kid." Sighs; Nannan makes a </span>
  <em>
    <span>prrp</span>
  </em>
  <span> noise and seems to fall asleep. "Well, of course </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> don't care," Handong mutters. "You can't read." She takes another sip of her coffee. "Hm."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She wonders if her mother still has the book she'd first read the legend in. If she closes her eyes, she can still see the cover - that blue dragon, a skeleton standing next to it. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Death's pet and other stories. </span>
  </em>
  <span>She's got no idea where her mother let her read that when she was so young. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her gaze drops to her phone, which is lying facedown on the coffee table, right where she'd left it before her mission the night before. She could call and ask.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>But her mother probably wouldn't pick up, anyway. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Besides, she'd probably thrown it out, along with the rest of Handong's stuff. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Handong sighs and rests her hand on Nannan's fur. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The rest of the day passes far too slowly for Handong's liking. The most interesting thing that happens is a visit from the landlord - luckily, after Nannan's already decided he's bored and ditched her - reminding her about the rent that's due next week. And then it's five thirty, and she's got to go. She hangs her white shirt on the shower rod to dry and heads out. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>It's rush hour, and Handong is forced to slide through the crowd to the offices of YG Life Insurance. There's already people coming out of it - workers who don't have a clue what actually goes on on the top floor, mostly - so she keeps herself as lowkey as she can. She weaves through the crowd for the back elevator. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"I'm sure he'll let you go," someone is saying, and Handong pulls back so that she's not recognized. "Whenever there's an assignment as big as this, it's always the four of us."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jisoo's talking to Rosé, right in front of the elevator. They seem to be waiting for something. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Rosé sighs. "I don't know," she says. "I almost got caught today. He's not good at letting mistakes slide."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"How'd that happen?" Jisoo asks. "That's never happened before."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The blonde shrugs. "I'd tracked down that Yoohyeon, and she was talking, like she was supposed to, but she just </span>
  <em>
    <span>kept talking</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I couldn't find a natural way out of the conversation. And then Jiu showed up, and I just… Panicked, because she clearly recognized Whistle." She combs her fingers through her hair. "I don't think he knows that part, but if he does, it might just be the three of you."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jisoo frowns. "He's not going to kill you over that. Besides, I doubt Jiu knows anything."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"I didn't say he'd kill me, just that…" Rosé shakes her head. "I don't think he would. He's told me I'm valuable. But he said that to Jennie, too."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>They exchange a glance, one that's clearly full of meaning that Handong can't hope to figure out. "She's okay now," Jisoo says, hooking her thumbs around one of her belts. "Or else she wouldn't be going with us."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Where's Lisa? Shouldn't she have come down by now?" Rosé says, far too quickly. "It's been ten minutes."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>As if on cue, the elevator dings, and the doors slide open. The only person within is none other than Lisa, who just shakes her head. "Sorry, guys," she says, tugging at the collar of her black jacket. "He spent, like, five minutes reminding me of the last mission- with the assassin, you know, in Daegu- and the little things that were out of my control and- Oh." She points directly at Handong. "Sup. What're you doing here?"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Handong points at herself. "I'm waiting for the elevator," she says, and she hopes her voice isn't shaking. "Excuse me."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She pushes between Jisoo and Rosé, giving both of them a curt nod, and sidesteps the girl in the elevator. She can feel the way Jisoo's staring at her, the icy daggers digging into the back of her neck. She swallows, turns around, smiles very gently in their general direction. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Top floor. The doors slide shut very slowly. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"She's doomed," Lisa says.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Maybe he'll go easy on her," Rosé replies. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"That's funny," Jisoo says. "We should get dinner before the good places fill up."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Handong swallows again. The walls of the elevator press closer and closer around her. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She makes sure her black tank top is smooth before entering YG's office. "Good evening, sir," she says, as she stands in front of his desk. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He's got a large office, on the top floor of the building. The back wall is covered in a giant window, and the sides are lined with bookshelves and trinkets and other things that only serve to brag about how much money he has. He stands in front of the window, a cigarette dangling between his lips. "You're late," he says. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Handong straightens her back. "There was a delay at the elevator," she says. She doesn't bring up that Lisa ran over. That would be a mistake.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>YG walks around to the desk, blows smoke as he does so. All Handong does is close her eyes. "You're injured," he says, gesturing with the cigarette towards the bandage on her arm. "Will that affect your work?" </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"I don't think so," she replies. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Right answer. He smiles. "Have you heard about the sapphire dragon, Handong?" </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She nods. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He picks up an ashtray on the corner of his desk and stubs it out. "Good. Then I have less explaining to do." He pulls his chair around, drops into it. "You've done surprisingly well so far, Handong. I must say that, at least." A drawer opens, a folder.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Thank you," Handong says. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He holds up a hand. "Silence. Now, since you've heard about the dragon, you've certainly heard of how much it's worth. It would certainly be valuable for us to have in our possession. Make for an excellent bargaining chip, even with entities like, I don't know, the government." He opens the folder and starts to flip through the pages. "Naturally, we're going to be getting it for ourselves."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Handong shifts her weight, trying to figure out what he wants. Is she to be</span>
  <em>
    <span> getting</span>
  </em>
  <span> it herself? Is that where this is headed?</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Of course, we're not the only ones," he continues. "There's plenty of people - other gangs, soldiers, even regular civilians - who want to get their hands on such an artifact. That's where you come in." He comes to a certain page, turns the folder around, and slides it across the desk. It's a list of names - thirty, maybe - with little descriptions written next to them. Handong picks it up and scans the list of names, one by one. She doesn't recognize any of them.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"What do you need me to do?" she asks, flickering her gaze up at him.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Kill them," he replies, as if that's the obvious answer (and it is, it was just not one she wanted to hear). "As soon as possible."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She looks at the names again. Thirty people. "When?" she asks. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He shrugs. "By the end of the week, if possible," he says. "That's when we are planning on setting out, so we'd like as many potential obstacles out of the way as we possibly can. Of course, you're not the only one assigned to this task, but I have the most faith in your abilities. Besides." He smiles like a predator. "Think of this as a final exam. If you can succeed, then we may be able to let you accompany the girls in getting the dragon."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>That makes Handong perk up. "Are you serious?" she blurts, before she can stop herself. "You mean it?"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He nods. "That's </span>
  <em>
    <span>if</span>
  </em>
  <span> you succeed," he says. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Handong looks at the names again. "And if I fail?" she asks. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"I don't think I need to answer that question."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Handong folds the paper up and puts it in her pocket. "I'm going to need more bolts," she says. "Are you going to provide them?"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He shakes his head. "We are… Awaiting a shipment. How good are you with a short bow?"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She furrows her brow. "Passable?" Barely. She'd feel more comfortable with a gun, or throwing knives, or something like that. But she says nothing. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Good enough to kill?" he asks, and he waits for her to nod before continuing. "Tomorrow morning, someone will provide one for you. You are dismissed. Good luck, Handong." He leans back in his chair and waves her off. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She doesn't wait longer than she has to to leave. When she's in the elevator, she pulls the paper out again and reads each name more closely. The first name on the list is </span>
  <em>
    <span>Kim-Higashikata Minji. Female, mid-twenties, hair-dyed purple. Works for the Happyface Private Investigation Company. May have a connection to Japan. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    
  </em>
  <span>The elevator dings. She puts the paper back in her pocket and exits.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. diamond</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Siyeon sleeps poorly and wakes up late the next morning to her dog licking her bandaged hands. “Wha? Whuzzat?” she mutters, blearily pushing Orion’s wet nose away. “Gross, dog.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“That’s what you get for sleeping in,” her sister teases. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon pushes herself away from the dog and shoots a glare over her shoulder. “Like you should talk, Sunhee,” she says. “What time is it?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sunhee grins. “Eleven,” she says. “Mom made breakfast, and there’s still a bit left if you’re hungry. Oh, and she’s got a doctor’s appointment today that Dad’s taking her to, so we’re gonna be on our own for dinner.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon sits bolt upright suddenly. “Eleven?” she says. “Oh, crap.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She pushes Orion aside and kicks the covers off. Jiu didn’t give her a </span>
  <em>
    <span>time</span>
  </em>
  <span>, per se, but she’d rather not keep the woman waiting for that long. She stumbles over the runner next to her bed, hops and staggers around the foot of her bed, and slips past Sunhee in the doorway. “What’s wrong?” her sister asks. “You stepped on my foot-”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“No time to explain,” Siyeon says, slamming the bathroom door shut behind her. “I gotta run.” She rushes through opening the toothpaste and squirts mint green slime all over the sink. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Unfortunately, Sunhee doesn’t take the hint - as usual. She doesn’t even knock before opening the door “Does this have anything to do with that fight you and Dad had last night?” she asks, a playful smile on her face. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon accidentally inhales some toothpaste and coughs violently. “None- of your- business,” she sputters, wiping her face with a washcloth. “Don’t worry about it.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sunhee cocks an eyebrow. “And I thought was the dumb one,” she says. “C’mon. You can trust me.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Leave me alone.” Siyeon rinses off her toothbrush and tosses it back in the little cup that holds it. “Sorry. I’ll talk to you later.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She slips past her sister, sighing. Sunhee continues to follow her. “At least tell me where you want me to tell Dad you’re going,” she says. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon picks up a white shirt with buckles on it and tosses it on top of Orion, who’s curled up in the middle of her bed. “Just to a friend’s,” she says. “Get out so I can change.” She grabs one of her pillows. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sunhee ducks out of the room, shutting the door behind her right before getting hit by the pillow. “Oh, she has </span>
  <em>
    <span>friends</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” she teases. “What’s her name?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Uh, Yoohyeon,” Siyeon says. She tugs her sleep shirt off. “Kim Yoohyeon. Friend from school.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her sister hums. “How long are you gonna be out?” she asks. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Dunno,” Siyeon says. “All day probably. I’ll text you.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She hurries into a pair of baggy black jeans, then pulls her hair back into a ponytail. Her dog stares at her with judgement in its brown eyes. “Don’t look at me like that, boy. You’d be rushing around, too.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He whimpers. She scratches his belly. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll see you later.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>At the last minute, she remembers that what she’s about to do is illegal, and she grabs a pair of black gloves, just in case. She stuffs them in her pocket and heads out of her room.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Don’t you want breakfast?” Sunhee calls, as Siyeon rushes for the front door. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I’m fine,” Siyeon says. She slams the door behind her. There’s absolutely no way to explain any of this to her sister. She’s not even sure how she’d explain it to herself from a day and a half ago. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Today doesn’t look to be as nice as the other two; gray clouds billow across the sky, and the air smells like coming rain. She doesn’t hesitate, just makes for the little house. At least it’s not too far away. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She knocks on the door at eleven-twenty-seven, and Jiu opens the door. She looks half asleep. “Good morning, Siyeon,” she says. “You’re early.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon checks her phone. “I… am?” she asks. “When did you wake up?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu lifts one shoulder in a shrug. “Not long ago. Yoohyeon’s still out cold.” She steps aside to let Siyeon in. “She was running around all day yesterday.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Why?” Siyeon asks, tilting her head. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu shuts the door and walks back towards the little kitchen. “There’s so much to do to prepare for this expedition,” she says. “Besides, she’s sort of famous now, for discovering it. Her picture was in the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hankook Ilbo</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Would you like some coffee?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon eases her way into one of the barstools. There’s an empty plate on the table, and a dirty pan in the sink. “People read the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hankook Ilbo</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” she says incredulously. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu shrugs, already pulling out another mug. “Her picture’s in a newspaper,” she says. “That’s all that matters. And then we started collecting </span>
  <em>
    <span>supplies</span>
  </em>
  <span> and arranging things-” she slides a steaming cup of coffee across the table- “and then it was suddenly two in the morning and we kinda just… Passed out.” She laughs. “I don’t blame her. It was a long day. Important question, by the way.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon sips the coffee to be polite. It burns her tongue. “What is it?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Has anyone, well, asked you about the whole dragon situation?” The older woman sounds </span>
  <em>
    <span>concerned</span>
  </em>
  <span>, suspicious. She stares at her over her coffee mug. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon shakes her head. “Can’t say I have,” she says. “I didn’t think I knew how to explain it to my family.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu nods. “Good. Don’t.” She wipes her mouth. “Last night, someone followed Yoohyeon home from the newspaper place and was asking her all kinds of questions, about the dragon and all of that, and… I dunno. It just doesn’t feel right.” She puts the mug on the table, backs away from it. “I mean, I don’t want to be paranoid, but SM’s shady, and there’s probably more than one shady group here in Seoul.” She sighs. “So… Yeah. Keep this a secret.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Siyeon mutters. “Seriously, when I say I don’t know how to explain any of this to anyone, I mean it.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu’s vanished behind the couch. “It’s not the stand stuff I’m worried about,” she says. “If there’s five stand users here, there’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>probably </span>
  </em>
  <span>more. I wouldn’t mind knowing who they were.” When she pops back up, she’s holding her boxy laptop. She carries it back over to the table and sets it up across from Siyeon. “It’s the dragon. </span>
  <em>
    <span>That’s</span>
  </em>
  <span> the thing we have to keep secret.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Got it,” Siyeon says. She wraps her hands around the mug she’s holding. “So, then, what’s the plan?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu opens her laptop, taps rapidly at the keyboard. “So, we’re probably going to leave by the end of the week,” she says. “Early Friday morning at the earliest. My dad got me a plane.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon lifts her eyebrows. “You can fly a plane?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Mhm.” Jiu says it like it’s the most normal thing in the world. “I learned when I was younger. My cousin mandated that everyone with the Foundation had to learn, for… Some reason. I dunno exactly. Never asked. But-” she grins- “it’s pretty damn convenient, hm?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon leans on her hand. “Your whole family’s just like this, huh?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu laughs. “Yep, sure is. Everyone’s got their quirks. Back to business. You don’t need to worry about </span>
  <em>
    <span>most</span>
  </em>
  <span> supplies. The University will be supplying the rations and Yoohyeon’s equipment. But if you want anything else, that’s entirely up to you. Like a camera, or a small first aid kit. We don’t really have a set budget, but we don’t have a lot of space on the plane, either. I think we’ll have enough for maybe ten kilos per person, but we need to save as much as we can.” She shrugs. “I think we’ll head out later, once Yoohyeon wakes up.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Where are we flying from?” Siyeon asks. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu turns her laptop around. Onscreen is a map of South Korea. “We’ll be driving out to Uljin County Friday morning, early, because the Uljin Airport’s like, a private airfield and they won’t ask questions. Which is especially good, because… It’s, uh, more difficult to get private planes on public airports. And it’s by the coast.” She laughs, like she’s saying something completely natural. “So, everything’s going to be way easier. We just need to get through a three hour bus ride first.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon has a weird feeling about that response, but she chooses not to question it. “Alright then,” she says. “Friday morning. When?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu shrugs. “We’ll meet here at six, I guess?” she says. “That sound good to you?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I don’t see why not,” Siyeon says. “I also don’t see how I have much of a choice, anyway.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The purple-haired woman laughs. “I guess you’re right!” she chirps. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>They talk for a bit longer, discussing more of the details of the trip itself - a rough timeline, a map of the island, all the important bits. Siyeon finds herself almost impressed by the amount of work that’s been put into this. It helps to ease the few remaining worries that she’s got. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Their conversation is interrupted by the arrival of a bleary-eyed, still-pyjama-clad Yoohyeon. “You guys are loud,” she mumbles, rubbing her eyes. “Morning.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Good afternoon, Yoohyeonie,” Jiu teases. She taps the seat next to her. “I was just feeling Siyeon in.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Fuck, it’s afternoon?” Yoohyeon says. She covers her mouth. “I mean, uh, shoot, it’s afternoon?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon’s lips curl in a smile. “Don’t worry about it,” she says. “I’ve heard the stuff my sister’s said.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>That doesn’t change the shade of red that the girl’s become. “Sorry. Uh, carry on. What were we talking about?” She laughs awkwardly.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu spins her laptop back around to face her and shuts it. “Actually, we were just about done,” she says. “I was going to come up and wake you.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon slumps on the table. “Great, I skipped all the boring bits.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu ruffles her hair. Siyeon gets that feeling again, like she’s intruding on something she shouldn’t be. She waits for a moment before clearing her throat. “So where are we going first?” she asks. “I think we should get most of our shopping done before six, so we can beat rush hour.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon nods. “That’s a good idea. But that requires getting dressed.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“This is why you’re coming with us, Siyeon," Jiu says. "Someone's gotta be the smart one. Go get </span>
  <em>
    <span>dressed</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Yoohyeon." She nudges her, hard enough that Yoohyeon slips off her stool.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Meanie," Yoohyeon whines, but she dutifully walks back towards the stairs. Siyeon rolls her eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu hops off her chair, carrying her laptop with her. "Have you eaten?" she asks over her shoulder. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon shakes her head. "Almost every conversation we've had has something to do with food," she says with a laugh. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The older woman shrugs. "What can I say? Food's good. There's leftovers in the fridge if you want some." She drops her laptop on the couch. "I'm gonna make sure Yoohyeon didn't fall asleep again. You know where the bathroom is, if you need it." She smiles warmly before disappearing up the stairs. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Two days. Siyeon's known these people for two whole days, but it almost feels like she's known them for years. She pushes herself off the stool and walks towards the couch. They're certain </span>
  <em>
    <span>odd</span>
  </em>
  <span> people. And she's about to spend two weeks in the middle of nowhere with them. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>By the time she's managed to make herself comfortable on the ugly thing, Jiu and Yoohyeon have come back downstairs. This time, Yoohyeon's in something relatively presentable. "Let's </span>
  <em>
    <span>go</span>
  </em>
  <span>," she chirps, seemingly much more awake. "C'mon, we got work to do."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She marches over, grabs Siyeon's wrist, and pulls her to her feet. Siyeon yelps. "Hey! Hang on a second!" She stumbles. "What was that for?"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon laughs. "Just making sure you're awake."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Like you should talk," Jiu says. She glances down at her feet. "We're still gonna have to walk. The car won't be out of the shop until after we get back."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon dusts her jeans off. "Fine by me," she says. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon grimaces. "It looks like it's gonna start raining," she says, fidgeting with her hoodie strings. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu shrugs. "We'll be fine," she says. With that, she makes for the door, and the other two are forced to scramble to catch up. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The sky has only gotten darker since Siyeon first arrived. She regrets not wearing a jacket. Jiu does not seem to have noticed. "First, we need to get the bus tickets. I'll do that." She's pulled her phone out and is reading off a note. "You said you needed more film, right?" She points at Yoohyeon, who nods. "Right, that's that. You got anything, Siyeon?"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon shrugs. "I guess some first aid supplies?" she says. "I haven't been on anything like this before."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Me neither," Yoohyeon says. "We're just kinda making it up as we go along." She laughs. "Guess that's part of the fun, no?"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon smiles; Yoohyeon nudges her side. "I guess."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>They make their way into the city center, which is, unsurprisingly, not very full. The weather must be chasing people off. "Let's meet back here in like, an hour?" Jiu offers, slipping her phone back in her pocket. "Or is that too much time?"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"That gives us plenty of time to get distracted by shiny things!" Yoohyeon chirps. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon opens her mouth to agree, but someone else clears their throat. "Miss Jiu?" they ask, and Jiu's face distorts into a startled grimace. "Is that you?"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon and Yoohyeon exchange a quick glance, and the younger girl just shrugs helplessly. Jiu slowly turns around. "Good, uh, afternoon, Irene," she says, her voice high-pitched. "Fancy seeing you here!"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Irene. Something about that name is familiar. Siyeon doesn't understand what. She tries to lean forward, get a closer look at the woman. "Right!" Irene says, and she's smiling. "Very interesting, hm? Could we talk to you for a moment?" She points over her shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon slides her gaze over to where the woman's pointing and sees another girl standing behind a bench in front of a small shop. "Sure," Jiu says. "Alone, I'm guessing…?"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Irene nods. Yoohyeon tries to interrupt, but she's cut off with a lifted hand. "It'll only take a moment, don't worry," she says. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"You guys go on ahead. We'll meet back in an hour." Jiu grins, or grimaces, or something. It doesn't do much to ease Siyeon's worries. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Sounds good," Yoohyeon says. She tilts her head towards a little shop on the other side of the square. "I think there's film in here." </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Irene leads Jiu off towards the bench, and Siyeon joins Yoohyeon by the little shop. It's closed for lunch, according to the sign, which also says </span>
  <em>
    <span>Pharmacy</span>
  </em>
  <span> on it. "Irene's the woman Jiu worked for," Yoohyeon whispers. "For the whole jewelry store thing."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Right," Siyeon says. "So she's with the mob."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon nods. "Probably."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon closes her eyes. "Great. This doesn't surprise me at all."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"I hope it doesn't have anything to do with the, y'know," Yoohyeon says. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon laughs drily. "I </span>
  <em>
    <span>wish</span>
  </em>
  <span> I could have your optimism."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon heads off towards a small stationary shop, leaving Siyeon presumably to look for film for her camera. Siyeon decides to wait for the pharmacy to open again. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>When she turns around to find a place to sit, Jiu, Irene, and that other woman, are gone. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon's shoulders slump. "Not again," she mutters. She walks back across the square, scans the road. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Something </span>
  <em>
    <span>snaps, </span>
  </em>
  <span>like a rubber band, and she jerks her head over her shoulder. But there's nothing there, nothing that could have made the noise. She steps back, trying to track where it came from, but there's genuinely nothing there. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>From the alley next to the pharmacy comes a noise like something falls to the ground. "What the hell?" Siyeon breathes, her voice low and labored. "Who's there?" </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She shouldn't. She knows that she shouldn't. But her curiosity is getting the best of her, and besides, she's got like half an hour to kill. She eases her way towards the corner and pokes her head around. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>All she sees is a flicker of white fabric, behind a dumpster. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Hello?" she calls. She steps further into the alleyway, scans the area. A cloud passes over the sun and casts the area into shadow. "Who's there?"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The next thing she knows, she's being knocked flat on her back, and there's a woman looming over her and a golden blade at her throat. "Name, or you die," her attacker hisses; the blade pokes into her throat. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon lifts her hands to her neck. "H-huh?" she sputters. "W-what-"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The blade pokes a bit deeper. "Tell me your name, or you die," her attacker says. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Lee Siyeon? Get off-"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her attacker, weirdly enough, obeys. "Get up," she says. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon scuttles backwards, coughs, rubs her throat. She should run, but she can't seem to get her legs to work. She should scream, but she can barely breathe. She just stares. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Get up," the woman repeats. "Lee Siyeon, employee of Happy Face Private Investigators."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon nods. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The woman leans down and grabs the collar of her shirt. "You die anyway," she says. She yanks Siyeon to her feet - an </span>
  <em>
    <span>arrow</span>
  </em>
  <span>, that's what she's holding, a golden arrow - then presses her against the wall of the building. Siyeon's eyes widen. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Instinct takes over. Without thinking, she smacks her forehead into the other woman's, which does very little but make her disoriented. She snaps her head back, blinks a few times. The woman lets go of her shirt and staggers back a few steps. Siyeon drops. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"No," Siyeon says. She braces herself against the wall and pushes herself upright. Her legs shake. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The woman rubs her nose. "I don't want to do this," she says, adjusts her grip on the arrow. "Just sit still."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon shakes her head. "You're not killing </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>," she says. She can feel the adrenaline kicking in. Her heart pounds in her throat. She's gotta get out of here, out onto the street. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>A droplet of water hits her head. She starts running. She'll use the rain to her advantage.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Except she doesn't get very far. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The arrow, it must be the arrow, bites into the small of her back, and it's warm and wet and sort of a stinging pain. She stops, coughs, leans against the wall. Her fingers dig into the bricks next to her. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Sorry," the woman says. There's a wet </span>
  <em>
    <span>shink</span>
  </em>
  <span>. "I didn't want to do that."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon turns around, but the woman's already starting to walk away, and her own head still hurts from the headbutt, and she doesn't want to waste time. She staggers forward, her head spinning. "Help!" she yells. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Siyeon?" Yoohyeon calls. "Where'd you- Oh, my god!"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She drops the bag she's holding and comes running forward. "What the hell happened?" she asks, and she barely manages to get there before Siyeon falls. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"I-I got stabbed," Siyeon says. And then she blacks out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It goes without saying that today has been an awful day. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The fact that she has a list of thirty people to kill in the next forty-eight hours aside, the past few hours have just gone pathetically. It's as if she's lost any and all skill that she once had. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoo Kihyun has been an easy target - in fact, she'd almost missed him completely. It had been earlier in the morning, or maybe late at night, and he'd been stumbling around in the back streets, and Handong only realized it was him when one of his companions called his name. One clean shot to the back of the neck. He'd dropped like a stone. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Na Jaemin has been a bit more difficult to find by himself, and even alone, he'd put up one hell of a fight. A bruise on Handong's left ribcage is all she has to remember him by; he'd taken two shots, but he'd died quietly, at least. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>So far, the worst has been Park Jimin, who was a lot faster than she'd accounted for. She'd wasted </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> many bolts just trying to knock him down that she'd holstered her crossbow and stabbed him with one of the stupid arrows she'd been given that morning. It was then that she'd learned that gold ones are </span>
  <em>
    <span>sharp</span>
  </em>
  <span>. They slice through flesh like a hot knife through better. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>They're also weirdly pretty. As Handong huddles behind a large box fan on the roof of a building, she finds herself admiring the pattern on the arrow she'd just used to kill Lee Siyeon - at least, she hopes she's killed her, because she </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> a bit dizzy and her aim </span>
  <em>
    <span>could</span>
  </em>
  <span> have been off and stupid, stupid YG for taking her crossbow from her. If she'd just gotten some more bolts, she'd be halfway done by now, she thinks. Her hand crossbow is easier to carry around then a full longbow; the bolts are easier to hide than arrows as long as her forearm. She's not super upset the bow broke when she was trying to kill Kim Jiu. She's more upset that the noise had attracted the attention of Seulgi. She hasn't been in Seoul long, but she </span>
  <em>
    <span>knows</span>
  </em>
  <span> not to cross anyone who belongs to SM. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Oh well. At least Siyeon's dead. And that's one less thing to worry about. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She pushes herself to her feet again, her ribs pulsing with each breath she takes. </span>
  <em>
    <span>That's</span>
  </em>
  <span> going to be annoying, she can tell. She takes a deep breath, holds it until the pain stops. She's dealt with worse. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She's pulling the list out of her pocket again when she notices someone standing at the other end of the rooftop. It takes a minute for her to recognize who she's looking at. "What are you doing here, Bobby?" she asks, squinting. Ow. Fuck. Ignore the pain. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The man shrugs. "This is my area to patrol. Shouldn't I be asking you why you're here?" He lifts an eyebrow and approaches. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Handong doesn't like the look in his eyes. Unconsciously, she steps back. "I'm on my mission. Need proof?' </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Bobby nods. "Oh, yeah. I was told about that. I think he also told me to keep an eye out for you." He's very close now, but she's running out of places to go.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Why's that?" Handong asks. She meets his gaze, very slowly adjusts her grip on the arrow. "He didn't tell me I'd have a chaperone."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He puts a hand on her shoulder. "I wouldn't call myself </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>," he says. "Can I see the page? I'm curious." </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Handong pulls the page out and unfolds it with two fingers. "Why?" she asks, holding it to her chest. "What do you want?"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Gimme the paper," Bobby says. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Handong steps back and nearly falls off the roof. "Not until you tell me why." She leans away from him as far as she can. The rain that's been sprinkling this whole time has picked up in earnest. She's definitely going to fall. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"YG wants it back," Bobby says. "He doesn't need that list getting out to people."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She lifts her eyebrows. "Then how am I supposed to keep track?"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>He rolls his eyes, as if she's stupid; she bristles. "You're not. We need the arrows back, too. And what happened to the bow?"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Handong laughs. "You're kidding. I'm being </span>
  <em>
    <span>fired</span>
  </em>
  <span>?" </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>A gust of wind blows, hard and cold, knocking her off balance. Her hair blows in her face. "Of course not," Bobby says. "What do you think is going on?"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Handong says nothing. She smiles, thin and cold, and stabs with the arrow. He seems to anticipate it, because he dodges just quick enough for it to hit to just sink into his shoulder. His next move is to push forward with his other shoulder. Instinct kicks in - Handong flinches back - she throws her arms out to balance. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The arrow slips from her fingers. Panicked, she lunges for it. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Bobby kicks her in the stomach and she goes flying. Down, down, down, three whole stories. She curls herself into a ball and tries to relax.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She hits the ground with a sickening </span>
  <em>
    <span>crunch</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and then there's just pain radiating from ribs that are no longer just bruised. Her left hand feels like pulsing, bloody jelly; her eyes water. She can feel </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything</span>
  </em>
  <span> and it's too fucking much. She stays completely still, barely even breathing. Maybe that will make the pain stop. Or maybe she'll finally just die. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She's not sure which she'd prefer at this point.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Well, that was easy," Bobby says from the roof. She can sort of hear his footsteps, then the faint screech of old metal shingles. Most of it is melding into this endorphin-fueled haze. The world has turned an interesting shade of pink. She feels like she's in a fishbowl. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>But she's alive. Somehow, she's alive. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She waits a good long while before eventually trying to set up. Every movement sends waves of pain coursing up and down her entire body. She shudders with each breath. She's not sure if her stomach is still intact - part of her </span>
  <em>
    <span>hopes</span>
  </em>
  <span> a piece of bone punctured it and set loose the hydrochloric acid within, giving her a slow death in the next few hours - but she does know she wants to vomit. Somehow, she manages to rock to a sitting position, but even with the aid of the dumpster right next to her, she doubts she'll be able to stand. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her left hand is totally useless. Her fingers are bent at all sorts of strange angles; looking at it sends a fresh wave of sick down her spine. She closes her eyes and leans heavier on her right side. Crawling is difficult with three limbs, but certainly not impossible. At the very least, she'll die in the shadows. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She pulls herself in the shadow of the dumpster and falls back against it. Her head hurts. She wonders if her mother will ever learn of her death. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Probably not. She probably already thinks she's dead.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She's about to close her eyes when she hears footsteps right by her. "Hello? Are you… alive?" asks a voice, and Handong </span>
  <em>
    <span>recognizes</span>
  </em>
  <span> the voice, she's heard it before. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She lifts her head. The girl looking down at her is barely in focus, but she's got two pink space buns, and a concerned look written across her face, and her name is rising to Handong's lips. Clearly, Deja Vu worked, because there is absolutely no recognition in Gahyeon's eyes. Handong opens her mouth to say something, but it just comes out as a particularly heavy breath.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Gahyeon flinches back. "Oh, god, what the hell happened to you?" she says, covering her mouth with her hand. "Shit, shit, you're not doing so hot, huh? Okay. I can help you. I know I can-" she's begun to hop from foot to foot- "I just have to find help and- and- and you gotta stay with me, okay?" She crouches. "Don't worry about telling my your name, we can deal with that later… Oh, fuck…" She leans back. "Sua! Help! There's someone dying over here!"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Before Handong gets another attempt at speech, Gahyeon's turned on her heel and is sprinting out of the alley. "Help me carry 'em!" she calls. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Handong wants to tell her that this is a mistake. Instead, she just smiles to herself. She's still probably going to die. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Whatever. As long as she doesn't need to kill anyone else. In a way, she's glad that she failed. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>sunhee's not supposed to be anyone; i wasn't about to stalk siyeon's actual sister, so i just picked a name i thought sounded nice :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. breaking out</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>sorry about no update last week! school got in the way :L</p><p>tw for drug use this chapter</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Seven year old Siyeon loves a lot of things. She loves watching cartoons on television; she loves going to school; she loves her dogs. But most of all, she loves her grandmother.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her grandmother’s name is Lee Miyoung. She’s the only living grandparent that Siyeon has left; her grandfather died when she was a baby, and she’s never met her other grandparents. But she’s got Halmeoni, and she loves her very much. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Once a month, they go to Halmeoni’s house, and it always smells like tasty dinner and it’s always a sunny day and it’s always Siyeon’s favorite day of the month. Every month, when the car pulls up in the driveway, little Siyeon’s the first person out of the car and the first person Halmeoni hugs. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sunhee gags. “You’re a baby,” she teases, waltzing right past them.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon buries herself deeper into Halmeoni’s apron. “You’re just jealous that </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m</span>
  </em>
  <span> her favorite,” she says. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Now, now,” her grandmother says, with that sweet rasp in her voice. “I didn’t say </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Siyeon.” She pets her hair. Siyeon steps back and grins. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Be nice, Sunhee,” she hears Dad warning. He’s carrying a backpack on one shoulder. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sunhee sticks her tongue out. Siyeon holds Halmeoni’s hand, swings it back and forth. “How are you feeling, Mom?” her mother asks, her voice gentle and a little too quiet. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Halmeoni laughs. “Some days are better than others, my dear,” she says. “But, ah… Let’s not talk about this in front of the girls. They don’t need to know.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>They walk into the house, and Siyeon doesn’t pay attention to the rest of the conversation. Sitting on the counter is a green glass bowl of candies. She wiggles away from her grandmother to get a piece.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Another month comes and goes. Chilly winter has given way to the warmth of spring; Siyeon spends more time outside with the puppies. This time, they take Nebula with them when they visit Halmeoni. Nebula loves car rides and candy. Nebula is a good girl. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The night is drawing to a close, and Siyeon is half asleep on the living room floor, her little head buried in the black dog’s chest. She doesn’t know where her parents went, and she really doesn’t care. She’s mostly just really, really tired. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Nebula woofs, and she giggles. “Big fluffy pillow,” she says, petting the dog’s chest. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Nice</span>
  </em>
  <span> pillow.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“What’re you doing?” Sunhee says from the doorway. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon lifts her head and blinks sleepily. “Playin’ with Nebula,” she says through a yawn. “Where’re Mom and Dad?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sunhee crosses the room and sits down next to her. "Guess what Mom and Dad are talkin' about," she says, scratching Nebula's ears.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"What?" Siyeon asks, without looking up. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Nebula barks, low and gentle. "Halmeoni's dying," Sunhee says, as if it's the most casual thing in the world.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon sits up so quickly that she smacks her hand into the dog's side. "What?" she squeaks. "No!"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sunhee nods. "Yup. Mom says she's got cancer. Things are apparently really bad."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her voice is calm, but her face sure isn't. Siyeon grabs her older sister's hand and whimpers. "No!" she says. "Halmeoni can't die. She's not allowed." She shakes her head furiously. "She </span>
  <em>
    <span>can't</span>
  </em>
  <span> die. I won't let her."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sunhee leans over and wraps her skinny little arms around Siyeon's shoulders. She says nothing, no snarky comment, no comforting words, just silence. Siyeon fights to get out of her grip. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Leggo! </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sun-hee-e-e</span>
  </em>
  <span>!" </span>
</p><p>
  
  <em>
    <span>That</span>
  </em>
  <span> gets the attention of their mother, who rushes into the room. “What are you two </span>
  <em>
    <span>doing</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” she calls, crouching down and scooping Siyeon into her arms. “Are you alright?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sunhee folds her arms. “I was just telling her about Hal-”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Shh,” Mom says, pressing a finger to her lips. Siyeon tucks her head into her mother’s neck. “We don’t need to tell her just yet.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon lifts her head. “Is it true?” she whimpers. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her mother rocks her back and forth. “Don’t worry about it, baby,” she says. “Don’t worry about a thing.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon shuts her eyes. She’s so, so sleepy. “Okay, Mommy,” she says. “I won’t.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I don’t think it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>fair</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Sunhee mutters. “You didn’t lie about Halabeoji. And I was </span>
  <em>
    <span>six</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“And I’m very sorry about that,” her mother says. “I don’t want to make the same mistake again.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sunhee tries to say something else, but Siyeon’s already falling asleep.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>School’s out, and Siyeon’s an official graduate of first grade. But they don’t go visit Halmeoni that month to celebrate. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>That’s okay. Siyeon spends time with her sister and the dog and tries to focus on the summer reading, but it’s so difficult when Sunhee is spending most of the time sulking while watching television and Nebula keeps disappearing and the weather is just so pretty that Siyeon ends up running around outside much of the time anyway, and her summer work sits forgotten on the coffee table. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>They don’t visit Halmeoni next month, either. Siyeon overhears a phone call from her father, talking about a lot of numbers that she’s too little to understand. Before she can ask any questions, though, her mother picks her up and whisks her in front of the television. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Nebula has started to get fat. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Siyeon,” her mother says, as they are driving to go visit Halmeoni in the middle of July. “This may be the last time you get to see Halmeoni.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Why’s that?” Siyeon asks. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sunhee, sitting on the other side of the backseat, slumps. Her DS has a little red light in the corner of it, but she doesn’t seem to care. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her mother sighs. “We should have told her sooner,” her father murmurs, but she just shakes her head. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“She’s very sick. I am not sure how much longer we have left.” She twists around to look at Siyeon, a soft, sad sort of smile spreading across her face. “I’m sorry, Siyeon. I really am. I wish you had longer with her.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon’s eyes widen. She can sort of remember the conversation from a few months ago; she glances at Sunhee, whose response is to sink even further into her seat. “Halmeoni’s dying?” she squeaks. “But you said not to worry!”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I know, baby,” her mother says. “I was hoping things would get better, but they just… Aren’t. And saying good-bye is never easy for anyone to do.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon shakes her head rapidly. “No! She can’t die. She’s not allowed to die.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sunhee stuffs an earbud in one of her ears. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“I’m sorry, baby,” her mother says. “It’ll be okay. She’ll be with you from Heaven.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>No</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” Siyeon cries. “She’s not allowed to die!” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her mother leans back, stretches her hand towards Siyeon’s little body. “Shh, shh, baby,” she says. “I promise it’ll be okay.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon is barely listening. She’s not sure </span>
  <em>
    <span>when</span>
  </em>
  <span> she started crying, but she knows that she </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span>. “It can’t be okay! She’s not gonna </span>
  <em>
    <span>die</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her father turns on the radio. Sunhee grumbles something unintelligible. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Little Siyeon steps into the hospital room where Halmeoni is lying, sees her little grandmother sitting shriveled and wasted with tubes sticking out of her body and a hole in the center of her throat, and runs screaming back to the car. That’s not her grandmother. That </span>
  <em>
    <span>cannot</span>
  </em>
  <span> be her grandmother. Her grandmother is a kind, sweet woman who smells like freshly baked pastries and sings to her. That nightmare in the hospital bed is </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> Halmeoni. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She doesn’t even know when the funeral is. Sunhee babysits her sullenly, barely paying attention to the little girl. She’s always on the phone. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But time moves on, and while Siyeon never forgets her grandmother, she doesn’t dwell on the circumstances for longer than a year, and by the time she’s in second grade, she’s back to her happy, bubbly self, which is certainly helped by the puppies. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Nebula has a litter of six puppies right before the school year begins. They give away four of them, but one of them, Saturn, is never picked up, and remains with the family. She looks just like her mother, except she has a white patch over her nose and stomach. Siyeon likes her the best, and they are the best of friends, too. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sunhee’s attending high school next month, but she doesn’t seem excited. She sits at the dinner table one night and Siyeon can tell that something is wrong, but she’s not sure </span>
  <em>
    <span>what</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She says nothing, though, just picks up a piece of chicken and drops it on the floor for Saturn. Sunhee pokes at her rice and doesn’t look at her parents. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Are you going to do better this year, Sunhee?” their father asks, stern and cold.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sunhee shrugs. “I’ll do my best,” she says, without much commitment. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“What does that </span>
  <em>
    <span>mean</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Sunhee?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her sister sinks deeper into her chair, pushes her rice around her plate. She looks over at Siyeon--</span>
  <em>
    <span>help me</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she seems to be saying--and shrugs again. “Attending class, going to the study sessions, talking to my teachers.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Their father nods. “And you’re going to ask for help when you need it, right?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Saturn whimpers at Siyeon’s feet. Siyeon jumps and drops another piece of chicken. “You know she’s not allowed to beg,” her mother scolds. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Sorry,” Siyeon says, but she just can’t resist Saturn’s big, wide eyes. “I’ll stop.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sunhee skewers a piece of broccoli with her chopstick. “What’s the big deal, anyway? I was fine in middle school.” She sounds angry, defiant even. “You guys didn’t seem to care </span>
  <em>
    <span>then</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon pushes away from the table. “I’m gonna take Saturn for a walk,” she says loudly. It’s starting to get uncomfortable in here. “I think that’s why she’s begging.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She picks up Saturn rather roughly and carries her to the front door. She’s worried about her sister, but there doesn’t appear to be anything she can do to help. Best not to worry about it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Except things don’t get better. Sunhee pulls herself further and further away from the rest of the family, and Siyeon is left to do all the housework that her sister would have done. It’s starting to get annoying. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She sighs and puts a clean plate in one of the cabinets. It makes </span>
  <em>
    <span>sense</span>
  </em>
  <span> that she’s doing more - after all, she’s going to be in seventh grade next year, she’s got a lot more on her plate, she </span>
  <em>
    <span>should</span>
  </em>
  <span> be doing more, but that doesn’t mean she has to like it. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She wipes her wet hands on a dish towel and exits the little kitchen, stifling a yawn. “Have you seen your sister?” her mother asks, without looking up from her book. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon shakes her head. “She might still be at the library,” she says. “She did say she was studying late.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Mm.” Her mother flips a page. “I hope that’s where she is.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Where else would she be?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her mother shrugs halfheartedly. “I wish I knew, Siyeon. I </span>
  <em>
    <span>wish</span>
  </em>
  <span> I knew.” She finally glances up. “I think you should get ready for bed. It’s getting late.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon frowns. “I’m not tired yet,” she says, and she sits next to her mother on the couch. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She picks up the remote and turns on the television, flips aimlessly through the channels. Her mother sighs and returns to her book. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>They don’t need to wait too long before the front door opens and Sunhee walks in, her uniform top unbuttoned and her backpack dangling off one shoulder. “Good evening,” she says. “Did I miss dinner?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“It’s eight o’clock,” Siyeon says. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her mother shuts her book and looks Sunhee up and down. “Where were you?” she asks. “You look like you’ve been running around.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sunhee laughs awkwardly, fidgets with the collar of her shirt. “Oh, me and my friend were at the library, and then we decided to get a snack, and then we went around town, and then…” She shrugs, smoothing the front of her uniform. “I guess we just. . . never went back.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon gets the feeling that there’s going to be another argument. She slides off the couch. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“You should have called,” their mother says. “We were worried sick about you.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sunhee hurries towards the hallway, cutting Siyeon off. “Oh, well. I’m all good. Wasn’t doing anything stupid.” She turns to Siyeon and grins. “Want some snacks? Me and Jack got </span>
  <em>
    <span>way</span>
  </em>
  <span> more than we needed.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her eyes are bloodshot. Siyeon startles. “Are you sure you’re all good?” she asks. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sunhee laughs. “Yeah, just tired.” She swings her backpack around and unzip the front pocket.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Who’s Jack?” their mother asks. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“He’s my new buddy.” Sunhee pulls out a bag of mint chocolate chip cookies and offers them to Siyeon. “He’s from the USA, here on an exchange program. He’s really cool.” She shakes the bag, and Siyeon reluctantly takes the bag. “He’s helping me with English, and I’m helping him with Korean. And he brought all these cool American snacks.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The bag is half empty. Siyeon picks one of the cookies up and stares at it. “Well, at least warn us if you’re going to stay out late like this again,” their mother says. “It’s not that difficult.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Yeah, yeah. I will.” Sunhee waves her hand noncommittally. “I’m going to bed. Good night, Mom.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Something isn’t right about this, but Siyeon can’t quite place what. She pops the cookie in her mouth and walks back towards her room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Siyeon is the favorite child. This is obvious. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She does her homework and passes with A’s and B’s. She cleans up after herself. She takes the advice of her parents when it comes to school. It’s really the bare minimum, but compared to Sunhee, she’s a fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>saint</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her older sister is </span>
  <em>
    <span>supposed</span>
  </em>
  <span> to graduate high school this year, but every day that feels less and less likely. Letters come home every day about her missed classes, her poor behavior, her lack of following the dress code; Siyeon sleeps every night with the sound of her parents and Sunhee hashing it out. She hasn’t dropped out yet, but she threatens to, every single goddamn night, and Siyeon feels so small and helpless. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She’s cocooned herself in blankets, her arms wrapped tightly around a sleeping Saturn, to try and block out the sounds of the fighting. It died out some time ago, but she’s still anxious. She tries to breathe. Admittedly, it’s difficult with two blankets and a dog pressing on her chest, but it helps a little bit. She still wants to cry. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Saturn whimpers and wriggles in Siyeon’s grip. “Sorry,” she whispers, and she lets go of Saturn just a bit. “Sorry, sorry, sorry.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She sniffles. How long has this been going on? It feels like forever. She’s not sure how much longer she can handle this. Stupid, stupid, stupid. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>When did </span>
  <em>
    <span>she</span>
  </em>
  <span>, a thirteen year old girl, become the most mature person in her family? How come she’s the only one who can see that the screaming matches don’t help? She buries her head in her dog’s neck pathetically. Her head hurts. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She really should try to sleep. She’s got a math exam tomorrow morning. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>It seems, however, that as soon as she shuts her eyes, Saturn starts barking, and she shoots upright in bed to find her window sliding open from the outside and a shaky figure tumbling inside. She pushes the dog out of her bed and screeches. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sunhee jumps onto the bed and slaps one of her hands over Siyeon’s mouth. “Shh! You’re gonna wake Mom and Dad!” She laughs quietly. “Aw, fuck, this isn’t my room.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“S-Sunhee?” Siyeon squeaks, leaning back on the bed. “What do you- Where did- What time is it?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her sister shrugs. “I dunno. One? Two? Something like that.” She giggles. “Me and Jack were at the park and then the cops showed up and we just fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>booked it</span>
  </em>
  <span>, bro. I dunno where he went, but neither of us got caught. And you know what that means.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon blinks. Saturn has stopped barking, but she’s sort of growling. She doesn’t have to question why; her older sister </span>
  <em>
    <span>stinks</span>
  </em>
  <span>, like dirt and alcohol and something else that she can’t quite place. “What?” she says. “You </span>
  <em>
    <span>reek</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Can’t get in trouble if you don’t get caught.” Sunhee laughs like that’s the funniest thing in the world. “Least that’s what Jack says.” She says presumably the same thing again, but this time in </span>
  <em>
    <span>heavily</span>
  </em>
  <span> accented English. “And so far he’s been right. He was supposed to leave months ago but he hasn’t done </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> yet.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She falls off the bed, which makes Saturn start barking again. Siyeon kicks the covers off and slides off the bed to help her. “What did you </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” she bleats.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sunhee laughs. “All kinds of stuff. I haven’t felt this good in </span>
  <em>
    <span>weeks</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Siyeon.” She leans her head on her little sister’s shoulder. “I mean, we’ve gotten high before, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>this–” </span>
  </em>
  <span>she lifts one of her hands and waves it– “this was something </span>
  <em>
    <span>else</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Oh,” Siyeon says, and it hits her all at once. “You’re high.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Ding-ding-ding!” Sunhee chirps. She smiles slowly and lazily. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon shakes her shoulders. “What the </span>
  <em>
    <span>hell</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Sunhee? You’re actually high? What are you thinking?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sunhee huffs. “Right now? Not much of anything. You make a damn good pillow, Siyeon.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon shakes her head. “Why are you doing this? You’re so stupid. You’re ruining your life–” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“My life’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>been</span>
  </em>
  <span> ruined, Siyeon. This. . .” Sunhee pushes herself upright and waves at her body. “This is someone who’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>fucked</span>
  </em>
  <span>. There’s something wrong up here–” she taps her forehead– “and the schools didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>care</span>
  </em>
  <span> so they left me out to dry. At least like this I’m happy for a little while.” She sighs and tries to use the bed to push herself up, which works, but not before she stumbles. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon watches her. “I don’t understand.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sunhee runs her fingers through her hair. “Only one who does is Jack.” She staggers towards the door. “Me and him, we’re gonna get </span>
  <em>
    <span>married. </span>
  </em>
  <span>And then we’re gonna move to the USA and start a new life there, and it’s gonna be great.” Pulls the door open. “Soon as I get out of school, I’m outta here.” She starts to walk out, then stops, glances over her shoulder. “Uh. Don’t tell Mom and Dad we had this talk. Good night, Siyeon.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The door clicks shut, but not all the way. There’s a little sliver of light coming in from the hallway. Siyeon sits on the floor and stares at it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sunhee drops out and leaves. Siyeon decides that she’s going to be the perfect student, because </span>
  <em>
    <span>someone</span>
  </em>
  <span> has to be. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She spends hours every day at school, studying and working to become a straight A student. When she turns fifteen, she gets a job at a corner store as a cashier. She barely spends time at home anymore. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>On the eve of Siyeon’s first year of high school, Sunhee returns, to everyone’s surprise. Siyeon comes home from work to find Sunhee sitting on the couch, thin and pale and tired looking, wrapped in a blanket and holding a bowl of food. “Hey, Siyeon,” she says. Her voice cracks. “Long time no see, no?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Oh, my God,” Siyeon sputters. She drops the backpack that holds her uniform and rushes towards her sister. “What the hell happened to you?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sunhee laughs drily and kicks herself around so that Siyeon can sit next to her. “Don’t trust men,” she says. “How’s school?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“What?” Siyeon says. “What are you talking about?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Their mother steps out of the kitchen, holding a rag. “I wouldn’t worry too much about that,” she says. “We’re just glad to have you back, dear.” She smiles, but it feels strained. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sunhee rolls her eyes. “It’s a long story,” she says. “I’m glad to be home.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Tenth, eleventh, twelfth grade. Sunhee has yet to go to college, but she’s gotten a job, and she says she has plans. But there’s this weird flighty look in her eyes that doesn’t sit well with Siyeon. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her father pulls Siyeon aside one day and asks her about her plans for the future. Mechanically, she declares that she will go to school to be an engineer. She doesn’t want to, not really, but she doesn’t know what else she’s supposed to do. At least then she knows that she’ll have a job. It’s basically a guarantee.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her mother spends more and more time asleep. Her father takes over the cooking and the cleaning. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>And Siyeon spends less and less time in the house. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She’s twenty years old when her mother gets the diagnosis - intestinal cancer, early stages. She’ll probably survive, but the treatment has to happen </span>
  <em>
    <span>fast</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her father hides in the study that he practically lives out of; Siyeon works even longer hours than she previously could; Sunhee simply disappears for a week. When she comes back, she looks tired, drawn out. Siyeon tries to talk to her, but she just shakes her head and walks away.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The only living creature left in the house that Siyeon feels like cares about her is Saturn, and Saturn is an old dog.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“What if I dropped out of college?” she asks one night, running her fingers through the dog’s graying fur, as they sit on the couch and stare at a muted television. “Just got a full time job somewhere and paid for Mom’s treatment myself?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Saturn blows air out of her nose and settles into Siyeon’s lap. “Yeah, yeah, you don’t care. You’re just a dog. You probably don’t even know what cancer is. Or intestines. Yeah, girl?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Who are you talking to?” Sunhee asks, appearing in the door of the living room. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon points to the dog in her lap, cocking an eyebrow as she does so. “Good evening,” she says stiffly. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her sister comes over and sits next to them, eliciting a little growl from Saturn. “Jeez, it’s just me,” Sunhee mutters, combing her fingers through her hair. “What’s your problem?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Where did you go?” Siyeon asks, without taking her eyes from the television. “You were gone for a week.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sunhee shrugs. “Better question would be </span>
  <em>
    <span>when</span>
  </em>
  <span> I left. I don’t think I’ve come back yet.” She leans forward, picking at her nails. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have just… Fucked off like that. I should have at least told </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> what I was doing.” She laughs, ragged and tired. “But not Dad. Can’t let Dad know. I mean, he already hates me, but…”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon stares at her, furrows her brow. “What the hell are you talking about?” she asks. “What did you do?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Doesn’t matter. Don’t worry about it. I got us the money we need.” Sunhee’s leg bounces. “Everything’s gonna be fine. You want some advice?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She sounds a </span>
  <em>
    <span>lot</span>
  </em>
  <span> more serious than Siyeon’s ever heard her before. “What?” Siyeon asks. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sunhee turns around and jabs a finger under Siyeon’s nose. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> drop out of college. Don’t make that mistake. You hear me?” Her hand is shaking. “There’s only room for one fuck-up per family and I think we both know who that one is. You got it?” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She stands up and starts back towards the study before Siyeon gets a chance to respond. “Also, Dad smokes. Tell him to cut it out. We can’t lose him too.” She laughs tiredly, stuffs her hand in the pocket of her sweatpants, and leaves. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon looks down at Saturn, who’s staring up at her with sad brown eyes. “Guess I’m gonna stick around for a bit longer, huh, girl,” she says to herself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s a very short-lived </span>
  <em>
    <span>bit longer</span>
  </em>
  <span>. The next morning is punctuated by a fight between Sunhee and their parents which only stops because </span>
  <em>
    <span>someone</span>
  </em>
  <span> starts crying. Siyeon doesn’t know who, and she doesn’t stick around to find out. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>But it sticks with her throughout the day, and she cannot focus in her classes. She taps her pencil up and down, up and down, stares at her instructor blankly. She couldn’t tell you a single thing that she’s heard all day. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She makes it through one class before everything crashes around her. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The trigger is something stupid, really. All she does is drop her backpack. Except her backpack’s open, and her papers go everywhere across the plaza, and suddenly she’s on the ground and she can’t breathe. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Numbly, she tries to grab for pages, but her hands are shaking and she just crumples them. She blinks at her open backpack and it’s like she’s looking at a foreign object. It swims in her vision. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Someone taps her shoulder. “Are you alright, miss?” they ask. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon shakes her head. “Fine,” she says. “Just need a moment.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The speaker--a girl, with short brown hair--crouches besides Siyeon and helps her gather her pages up. “Here,” she’s saying, but she’s talking through a fishbowl. “Are you hurt?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“No,” Siyeon says. “Thank you.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She stuffs everything into her backpack and stares, distantly, off into space. The girl hasn’t left her side; her hand is on Siyeon’s shoulder, stabilizing her. “Are you sure you’re alright?” she’s asking. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Absolutely,” Siyeon says, way too quietly. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Do you want me to get someone?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She shakes her head. “I’m fine. Thank you.” She zips her backpack up, pushes the stranger off with maybe more force than she needed to, and walks off, down the plaza, into the main building, off campus entirely. She can’t stay here, not when the world is spinning in her head and there’s panic boiling in her gut and threatening to choke her. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She stops in the park away from her house, where she used to play as a child, and sits underneath a tree. She rubs her hand down her face. Numb, that’s what she feels now. Numb and tired. She wants to just sit and sleep for a hundred years and wake up and her mother isn’t sick anymore and her father isn’t so tense and her sister has finally stopped smoking marijuana and everything can be </span>
  <em>
    <span>normal </span>
  </em>
  <span>and </span>
  <em>
    <span>good</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She hugs her backpack close to her. As if things have ever been normal and good. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Eventually, she makes her way home again. She doesn't tell anyone what happened. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She gets to three panic attacks before she decides that maybe she should take a leave of absence from school. She still doesn't tell anyone, but she gets a feeling like her sister can tell something is wrong. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her father hands her a check for the next semester. She pockets it and puts it in a savings account that she has opened - </span>
  <em>
    <span>For Emergencies.</span>
  </em>
  <span> No need for that anymore, not when she’s not going back until next year. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She works as many hours as she can to make up for the time she’d otherwise spend on campus. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She feels like a rubber band being pulled taut. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But the treatment works, and the cancer goes into remission. Sure, her mother’s hair falls out and she’s got a fancy new list of foods that she can’t eat, but she feels more normal, more happy, more stable. She leaves her room, and walks the dog, and sings again. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The sense of relief that penetrates the house is tangible. Even Saturn is back to her old self, energetic and happy. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>They go out to eat one night, to celebrate the remission.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon cries. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Despite the promise that she made to Sunhee, she never goes back to school. One semester turns into two, and then she formally drops out. Something doesn’t feel right about the whole situation; she constantly fears that something </span>
  <em>
    <span>bad</span>
  </em>
  <span> is going to happen, and she can’t shake that out of her head no matter how hard she tries, and she tries pretty damn hard. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She lies awake one night, stares at the ceiling, and realizes that she </span>
  <em>
    <span>gets </span>
  </em>
  <span>it. She understands why her sister does drugs. It’s damn tempting to walk over to her room and ask for something. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She rolls over and stares out the window. No, don’t do that. Only room for one fuck-up per family.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Who cares? She’s already broken that promise. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They get two years of peace and tranquility. Sunhee decides to apply for college herself, and Siyeon tags along, because if </span>
  <em>
    <span>her sister</span>
  </em>
  <span> feels sturdy enough to attend school, surely </span>
  <em>
    <span>she</span>
  </em>
  <span> can. Only Sunhee’s application goes through. Things happen too fast, all at once, and Siyeon’s caught in the undertow.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>First, Saturn gets hit by a truck. She dies immediately, thankfully, but the sight is burnt into Siyeon’s brain. Her poor old dog lay in the middle of the road, a gory mess of blood and bone. There’s nothing for them to cremate or bury. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Then</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Siyeon gets fired. The store she works at claims that they needed to lay her off, that they simply couldn’t keep her along anymore, that it had nothing to do with her but rather the need to save money, sorry, have a good day. It goes out of business in a few months. Siyeon considers it divine punishment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>On the eve of Siyeon’s twenty-fourth birthday, her mother falls ill again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And that’s when the panic sets in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They get a new dog for Christmas, a little brown puppy Sunhee names Orion in keeping with the space theme. He likes their mother best. Siyeon can’t help but feel a little jealous. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She comes down for a drink of water one evening, only to stop when she hears her parents talking in hushed tones, and suddenly, she is seven years old again and the grown-ups are talking about things Siyeon isn’t allowed to know, and someone is dying. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“They said they can’t operate,” her mother is saying, and her voice is cracked and broken. “They took too much last time, they can’t operate. It’s too dangerous.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her father sighs. “I’d give up my life for you. You know that, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>“Oh, dear…” Her mother sounds like she’s been crying. “You don’t need to do that. Besides, there’s nothing you </span>
  <em>
    <span>can</span>
  </em>
  <span> do. That’s what the doctors said.” </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon peeks around the corner and sees her father kneeling in front of her mother. “I don’t want to lose you,” he’s whispering. Siyeon hasn’t seen him express this much emotion… Ever, come to think of it. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her mother smoothes his thin hair. “I don’t want to either. But I suppose it’s something we need to… Keep in mind. But I’ll talk to the doctors again tomorrow, see when we can start the chemo again.”</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon turns and runs back to her room. No. She’s not letting her mother die. She can’t. They just can’t give up like that. It isn’t fair. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For the past year, Siyeon has lived for her mother and her mother alone. And when she opens her eyes, she’s lying in a hospital bed, and it hits her that she almost </span>
  <em>
    <span>died</span>
  </em>
  <span> for her mother. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She sits up, and her lower back </span>
  <em>
    <span>screams</span>
  </em>
  <span> in pain. She winces and presses her hand to her side. That’s going to be a pain in the ass on Friday. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She blinks a few times. Friday. That’s when Jiu said they were going to leave, if Siyeon remembers correctly. She sucks in a breath through her teeth. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She doubts she’ll be out by Friday, if this is how badly it hurts. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <em>
    <span>Fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She lies back on the bed and blinks up at the fluorescent lights in the ceiling. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"You're awake," someone says. A woman in a clean white nurse's uniform has entered the room. "How are you feeling?"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon squints at her. "Fine," she says, more out of habit than anything else. "What time is it?"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The nurse walks around the bed, carting a mechanical blood pressure machine behind her. "It's only six PM," she says. "You weren't out for very long. It's lucky that your friends got you here when they did, because arrow wounds are particularly difficult to treat." She picks up Siyeon's arm and wraps the blood pressure cuff around it. "How would you rate the pain?"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Slowly, details of the afternoon filter back to Siyeon. She remembers Irene, and Jiu disappearing; she remembers investigating the noise in the alley; she remembers the woman with the arrow. "My pain's… a five?" she says. The blood pressure cuff squeezes her arm until it hurts. "I should be fine, I think."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"I can get you some painkillers, if you'd like. Finger, please." The nurse clips a blood oxygen monitor on her finger. "And would you like any dinner?"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon nods. "That sounds nice," she says. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The nurse </span>
  <em>
    <span>hmm-</span>
  </em>
  <span>s at the number on the monitor, which makes zero sense to Siyeon, and starts to walk away. "I'll bring you a menu to choose from when I return." She exits, and Siyeon drops back onto the bed and sighs. In the corner of the room is a television, currently off. Sitting on the little table next to the bed is a remote. She reaches over, picks it up and turns it on. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She gets maybe a minute of solitude before there's a knock on her door and then Jiu, excitedly, squeaking out, "You're awake!"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon turns the television on mute as Jiu and Yoohyeon, who looks exhausted, come into the room. "Have you been waiting?" she asks, and she smiles just a bit. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"More or less," Yoohyeon says. Jiu pulls one of the chairs out from under the window and sits down in it. "It didn't feel right to just leave you like that."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu nods. "I mean, we couldn't tell if you were gonna die or not. It was… Not fun." She crosses one of her legs over the other. "How're you doing, by the way?" </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Sitting in her lap is a tiny white dog. Siyeon blinks at it, but decides not to comment. "Fine," she says. "Just a bit sore. I should be good to go by Friday." This is a bit of a white lie. She swallows. "We are still going on Friday, right?"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The other two women exchange a look. "Right, about that," Jiu says. She strokes the little white dog's head. "I don't think that's the best idea. I mean, I've heard from my dad that arrow wounds suck to heal from, and I don't want to rush you. It could just hurt worse."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon laughs. "It's really not that bad, Jiu. I promise." Laughing hurts. "I'm sure I'll be fine."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon makes a big show of checking her phone. "It's probably still gonna be raining on Friday anyway," she says. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Right. I'm not comfortable leaving before at </span>
  <em>
    <span>least</span>
  </em>
  <span> Sunday." Jiu sighs. "It's only two days. That's really not that much time."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon shakes her head, looks away. "We can't </span>
  <em>
    <span>afford</span>
  </em>
  <span> to waste any time," she mutters. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu doesn't respond to that. "You think we're allowed to get food here?" Yoohyeon asks. "I'm starving."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"The nurse should be back soon," Siyeon says. She turns her gaze back to the television in the corner and settles deeper into the uncomfortable bed. The silence in the room is tangible. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Suddenly, the little dog is on Siyeon's lap, sticking its little black nose into her face and staring at her with remarkably human eyes. Siyeon flinches back. "Uh- Hello, there," she says. "Jiu, how did you get a dog in here?"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"I didn't," Jiu says. She's twisted around so that she's looking at the television as well. "I don't own a dog, anyway."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon blinks, reaches her hand up, touches the dog in between the ears. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Jiu touch the top of her head. Very slowly, the purple haired woman turns around, and her mouth drops open. She doesn't say anything, though, just sort of squeaks. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Is… something wrong?" Siyeon asks. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu grins. "Congratulations, Siyeon," she says, barely contained excitement in her voice. "You're a stand user?" She laughs, like she has absolutely no idea what's going on. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon looks at the dog, then at Jiu, then at the dog again. "Sorry, what?" She pushes herself upright. "How did that happen?"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu stands up, taps her finger against her chin. "It must have been the arrow. That's.. You did get stabbed with an arrow, right? That's what the doctor told us it looked like, and if you did, then, we have our answer." She turns her head around. "Yoohyeon, </span>
  <em>
    <span>please</span>
  </em>
  <span> remind me to call Dad when we get home." </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Sure," Yoohyeon says, but she doesn't sound particularly enthused. She doesn't look up from her phone. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu deflates. "I think I saw a vending machine downstairs," she says. She makes a </span>
  <em>
    <span>one-moment </span>
  </em>
  <span>gesture at Siyeon, fishes her wallet out of her pocket, and hands it to her roommate. "Could you maybe go get us some snacks?"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Yoohyeon glances up at her. "I have money," she says, but she hesitantly takes the wallet. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Don't worry about it," Jiu says, waving her hand. "My treat." </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She waits until the younger girl leaves the room before turning back around. "Right. Sorry," she says. "I just… Didn't want her to get jealous of the whole situation. Sorry." She grabs the chair she was sitting in before and pulls it closer to the bed. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon blinks helplessly. "Uh-huh," she says. "What does this mean?" </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu leans on the railing of the bed. "It means that you have a stand now and this means we need to figure out what it is." She tilts her head. "Try summoning it."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>The dog has hopped off Siyeon's lap and is now sitting next to Jiu on the floor. Siyeon leans over to look at it, then back up at the other woman. "How?" she says. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Like…" Jiu flexes her hand. "It's like… I'd describe it as reaching into your soul and pulling something out. Your stand's like, an extension of your soul, so." She nudges the dog next to her with her foot. "I mean, I tend to leave Chase Me out all the time. It's just a dog, so it's a neat test to see if anyone around me is a stand user. If they notice Chase Me, I know, y'know?" She makes a motion kind of like she's drawing something out of her chest. "Just try it. You'll know what you're doing when you do it."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon makes sure she's sitting up straight and looks around. "Pulling something out of my soul," she says cautiously. She touches one of her hands to her chest. "Like… this?" She mimics the gesture Jiu did and feels like a total idiot when she does so. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Well, you don't need to use the hand thing," Jiu says. "It's a mental thing. It'll probably be easier when we name it." She nods. "Just keep trying. You'll get it."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon sighs. "I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing," she says. She drops her gaze to her hands and stares at them. "Okay. Pulling something out of your soul." </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She shuts her eyes, but that doesn't seem to do anything. Squeezes her fists, releases them. Nothing. She mutters a curse word under her breath, reopens her eyes, and finds herself staring directly at a tall, humanoid… thing. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"You did it!" Jiu cheers, clapping her hands excitedly. "It looks pretty cool, too!"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon stares at the figure, which is about as tall as she is, all white and red. White plates cover its face, its torso, its elbows and knees. The space between the plates is like red cording; it reminds her of the muscles she saw in a medical textbook back when she still went to school. It's got bug eyes that look like moonstone. There's a thin line in the bottom of its head that might be supposed to be a mouth, but it's impossible to tell. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>She lifts her hand up and reaches over towards her stand, brushing her fingers against its elbow. It feels both solid and not at the same time, and her own right elbow tingles when she touches it. "Whoa," she says. "That's crazy."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Oh, this is great!" Jiu's saying. "Now that you have a stand, we may have more of a chance in getting that dragon!" She nudges Siyeon's shoulder excitedly. "We just need to figure out what it does. And we need to name it."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon tilts her head, almost expecting the stand to move like she does. It doesn't. "How do I do that?" she asks, without taking her eyes off the thing. "Does it come with a name?"</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu shrugs. "Well, Dad named mine, and my cousin named Dad's, so if you can't think of anything, I could name it for you." She leans on her hand and studies it. "As for the what it does part, that's… Trickier. I don't even know everything Chase Me does yet. I guess it'll come with time. We can focus on that when you're out of here, sound good?" </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"If you say so," Siyeon says. "What did you mean, we have a better chance in getting the dragon?" </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Jiu's face falls. "Don't worry about it. Just something Irene </span>
  <em>
    <span>may</span>
  </em>
  <span> have told me. How about </span>
  <em>
    <span>Breaking Out</span>
  </em>
  <span>?" She points to the stand, which has yet to do much of anything and is significantly less interesting than Siyeon was expecting it to me. "Since it sort of… Broke out of you, I guess. With the wound. It's like a pun." She smiles. "Yoohyeon's gonna be proud of that one."</span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Siyeon gets the feeling that she's not getting any answers out of Jiu any time soon. "Breaking Out," she repeats. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>Her stand seems to react, sort of straightening up. Maybe it likes the name. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <span>"Sounds good to me," she says. Jiu nudges her side playfully.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
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